Sakawa River Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright crew, Rusty here. Let's look at what the Sakawa River has in store for us over the next couple of weeks. It's going to be a bit of a mixed bag, with a promising start, a flat spell, and then some serious size on the horizon.

The best surf this week is on Tuesday the 8th of September. We've got a clean 5ft south swell rolling in with a period of 9 seconds and moderate energy (398). What really makes it special is that glassy wind – absolutely no chop on the water. The water is sitting at 82°, which is a touch warmer than usual for this time of year, so you can leave the thick rubber at home. The river mouth setup should be handling this perfectly. Keep in mind, crowds are possible here, so get in early.

Tuesday afternoon the wind picks up and swings cross-shore, messing up the surface, so the morning is the clear winner.

Wednesday the 9th sees the swell bump up. The morning has a 8ft SSW swell with a short 8-second period and a heap of energy (1346). The wind is clean cross-offshore, so the waves will look good, but at 8ft this is getting into expert-only territory. It's a bit raw for the average punter. Wednesday afternoon gets chopped out by the breeze again.

From Thursday the 10th through to Sunday the 13th September, the swell drops right off. We're looking at knee-to-waist high dribble at best, with a mix of onshore and cross-off breezes. It's just not worth paddling out for a couple of days.

Monday the 14th and Tuesday the 15th see a tiny pulse of 3-3ft SSE swell, but it's barely breaking. The morning sessions are glassy, so it'll be clean, but wave size is very ordinary. Good for a beginner to practice pop-ups, but not much else. Then we hit another dead spell from Wednesday the 16th through until Saturday the 19th. The swell is tiny, directions are all over the place, and there's nothing to get excited about.

Now, looking further out. Sunday the 20th of September is interesting. There's a big jump in swell, with a 6ft, 20-second period SE groundswell. The energy is through the roof (2180), but the wind is light cross-shore. That kind of period is going to make the river mouth break a bit straight and tricky. The afternoon pushes up to 8ft with 18-second period from the SE, but with onshore wind. It's marginal, and that’s a lot of water moving around.

Then, on Monday the 21st of September, we have a monster. An 12ft SSE swell with an 18-second period and insane energy (6653 in the morning, 7922 in the afternoon). The wind is clean offshore both morning and afternoon. This is a proper groundswell event. However, at this size, the Sakawa River is going to be absolutely pumping and very dangerous. The data says the swell is predicted to be too big for this break. This is strictly for experts only, and only if you really know the river's currents and channels. Tuesday the 22nd keeps the size up at 10ft with a 16-second period from the SE, but the wind goes cross, making conditions less ideal.

After that, the swell drops back down to nothing from Wednesday the 23rd.

The standout is Tuesday morning, the 8th of September. Glassy, clean 5ft surf at Sakawa River. The other big window is that huge swell on the 21st, but it's dangerously big for this spot, so I'd only mention it as a "watch from the bank" kind of day unless you are a hardened local expert.

Rusty.

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