Saint Annes Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Look, I been staring at the charts for Saint Annes and I gotta be straight with you – it’s a tough stretch ahead. The whole 16-day window is a bit of a write-off for decent waves. We got a few windows where the ocean has some energy, but the conditions just aren’t playing ball.

Let’s start with the opening salvos. There’s a sniff of a long-period swell from the SSW on Wednesday the 19th, pushing around 3ft (combined energy of 518), with a 15-second period. That’s proper groundswell, but the onshore wind from the WNW is only giving us a cross-shore chop, and the report says it’s marginal at best. It’s a one-score day, which tells you all you need to know. Thursday the 20th morning bumps up to 5ft from the WNW, but the wind is cross-onshore and it’s a 7-second windswell – short, weak, and messy (energy 709). Another dud.

Then we hit a long, dry patch. From Friday the 21st right through to the end of August, it’s pretty much all poor surf conditions. The energy numbers are all over the shop, some moderate, some weak (between 249 and 861), but the wind is a constant cross or cross-onshore breeze, and the swell direction is mostly SSW or WNW with periods all over the place. There’s not a single standout in there. A few days pop up with 6ft to 7ft (like the 27th and 28th), but the quality is still poor. The swell is too short-period and the wind is messy.

The real disappointment comes as we flip the calendar. The end of the run on September 3rd has the biggest energy of the whole outlook – 8ft from the NW with a 9-second period and a whopping combined energy of 1613. That’s a lot of water moving. But again, the conditions are marginal, with a cross-shore wind and the report calling it poor. The swell is still too short-period for that reef to really light up, and it’s right on the edge of being a heavy, unruly mess. For an expert break that’s fairly consistent, this is a blank run. The sea is just not interested in cooperating for a paddle surf this fortnight. On the plus side, it is average water temperature for this time of year, so at least you won't be freezing while you wait.

Honestly, if the wind stays like this with the size we see on September 3rd, that setup looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing.

Rusty, signing off.

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