Rockpiles Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at the outlook for Rockpiles over the next couple of weeks. It’s a reef break, pretty consistent, and it takes a south-southeast swell best. The water temp is sitting at a normal 81°, nothing unusual there for this time of year.

Right off the bat, there’s a bit of a flat spell. For the first few days, from Thursday the 6th through to Friday the 7th, we’ve got tiny swell. You’re looking at a weak 1 ft from the south-southwest with moderate cross-off breezes. The wave energy is pretty low (145), so honestly, don’t bother paddling out. The forecast is calling it poor, and I agree.

Things start to pick up a little from Saturday the 8th into the middle of the following week, but it’s a mixed bag. The swell jumps to 5 ft to 6 ft from the east-northeast, but the period is short, around 6 to 8 seconds, meaning weak, chop-prone waves. The wind stays cross-off, which is okay, but the energy, though moderate (between 476 and 624), is just producing messy, marginal waves. The conditions are "marginal at best," and the calls for the 8th through the 11th are mainly "questionable tide conditions" or "poor." You could maybe find a rogue wave, but it’s not worth getting excited about.

Now, here is the one stand-out window in the whole forecast. Wednesday the 12th and Thursday the 13th of August. The swell switches up, dropping in height to around 3 ft to 4 ft, but the period stretches out to 15 to 18 seconds from the south. That’s proper long-period groundswell. The combined energy is strong, hitting between 833 and 924. This is the sort of energy that will wrap nicely into a reef like Rockpiles. The wind stays a moderate cross-off, so expect clean, lined-up waves. This is the best on offer, without a doubt. A reef break with that long-period south swell and cross-off wind is a recipe for some tidy, rippable walls. Just keep an eye on the tide.

After that little burst of quality, we slip back into less ideal stuff. Friday the 14th through Tuesday the 18th of August, the swell size climbs again, between 7 ft and 8 ft, but it’s back to that short-period east-northeast windswell (6 to 8 seconds). The energy is still strong numerically (up to 879), but the waves will be lumpy and unruly. At that size with those conditions, Rockpiles could get pretty gnarly and is definitely only for the experts who know what they’re doing. The winds are stronger too, a stiff to strong breeze out of the east-northeast, so it'll be a bit of a battle.

The final days (19th of August to the 21st of August) see the size drop back down to a smaller, cleaner-looking long-period swell from the southwest, with moderate energy (415 up to 734). It’s still rated as marginal, so not the main event, but a better option than the big messy stuff.

If you only have one window to make a move, target that Wednesday 12th and Thursday 13th south swell. That’s your gold.

Rusty.

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