Sakawa River Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let’s take a look at what the Sakawa River has in store for us over the next couple of weeks.

First off, it’s pretty bleak out there for a while. The wave energy is weak at just 205, with a tiny 3ft south swell on Friday the 28th. The wind is a weird cross-off, so it might look okay, but the size is too small to get excited about. Friday afternoon gets glassy with the same knee-high dribble, dropping to 2ft with a period of 8 seconds, and energy down to 144. It’s surfable, but you’d be working hard for nothing.

Then comes a grim stretch. From Saturday the 29th right through the end of the first week of September, we’re looking at multiple days with scores of zero. The swell stays tiny, often under 2ft, and when it does push up a little, the wind is cross or cross-on and choppy. A lot of those days have combined energy under 100 or just barely there, like 38 or 42. It’s pretty much flat or blown out. The water temp is about average for this time of year, nothing weird to report.

Now, there is a glimmer. On Tuesday the 8th of September, things finally turn. That afternoon sees a 4ft south swell with a period of 10 seconds and the wind goes cross-off from the WSW, giving us clean conditions. The combined energy hits a moderate 278, and the forecast suggests good surf. It’s not huge, but it’s clean and the Sakawa River handles a south swell well when it’s offshore. That Tuesday afternoon is the standout. It’s an intermediate spot, fairly consistent, and the wind should keep the surface glassy.

After that, we get a bit of a spike on Thursday the 10th of September with a 6ft south-southeast swell, but the wind is cross and the period is 10 seconds, leading to messy conditions. Too much chop for it to be fun. And the 6ft is getting a bit punchy for the river mouth.

Overall, the surf honestly looks pretty poor for the next week and a half. For kite surfers, the setup might be more interesting on those windy, choppy days, but for a paddle surfer, you’re waiting until Tuesday the 8th of September for the one half-decent window. After that, it fades again.

That’s the long and short of it.
Rusty.

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