Saaga Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Look, I’m gonna be straight with you – this is a tough stretch for Saaga. We’ve got a promising little window right at the start, but after that, the wind turns nasty and it’s a long, grinding wait for anything decent again. The water’s sitting at 81°, which is pretty much bang on average for this time of year.

The only real highlight is Monday afternoon, August 3rd at Saaga. It’s a proper reef setup, so it handles swell well, and we’ve got a clean 3ft SW groundswell pushing through with a solid 14-second period. The wind is a light cross-offshore breeze from the NE at 9 mph, which is going to leave the surface glassy. The combined energy is moderate (773), but the conditions are set to be clean and fun. This is the one to paddle out for. Keep in mind it’s an advanced wave and it can get crowded sometimes, so pick your peak.

Tuesday the 4th starts with some onshore wind and a marginal tide, and it only gets worse from there. By Wednesday the 5th, the wind is up to 16 mph from the SE, and the swell jumps to 4-4ft, but it’s cross-on and choppy. The energy is getting serious (909 on Wednesday morning, 1304 on Wednesday afternoon), but the quality is gone.

We hit a real rough patch from Thursday, August 6th, through to Friday, August 14th. The wind just doesn’t let up. It’s blowing 22-34 mph from the SE, making it a cross-on mess. The swell gets big – we’re talking 7ft to 10ft throughout – but it’s blown out, lumpy, and ugly. The energy is strong to very strong, hitting as high as 2226, but with that near-gale wind, it’s only going to appeal to the foilers or kite crew. For a paddle surfer, it’s a write-off.

There’s a glimmer on Saturday, August 15th, with a 4ft SW groundswell and a very long 16-second period, but the wind is still 19 mph from the ENE, cross-off but fresh. The conditions are clean, but the tide looks questionable. That long period will make it wall up at this reef, which is a good thing, but the energy is moderate (1214). It’s a maybe, not a guarantee.

The following Monday, August 17th, sees a drop in wind to 16 mph from the ESE, with a 4-5ft SE swell and a period of 10-11 seconds. The energy is moderate (822-867), but it’s still cross-shore, so it’s lumpy and marginal. Not a standout.

Then Tuesday, August 18th, the swell jacks up to 10ft from the SE with a 10-second period, and the energy is strong (1688-1832). But the wind is back onshore and the surf is poor. That’s a lot of water moving around, but with the onshore slop, it’s not for the average surfer.

So, bottom line: get it on Monday afternoon, August 3rd, because after that, it’s a long dry spell of strong wind and blown-out conditions until the second week, where we get a few marginal, lumpy days. The long-range stuff on the 18th is big but messy. I’d be checking the forecast again in a few days, because this run of poor conditions won’t last forever.

Rusty.

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