Sakawa River Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here, and I gotta be straight with ya—the Sakawa River is lookin’ at a pretty flat and ordinary run over the next couple of weeks. There’s a spot of promise right at the tail end, but you’ll be waitin’ a while for it.

We start off on Wednesday, 12th August with a tiny 2ft south swell, period around 10 seconds, and a light NNE cross-off breeze. The combined energy is weak (147), so you’re gettin’ surfable but very ordinary little waves. The morning’s your best bet—clean enough—but the afternoon turns to junk with a risk of thunderstorms and a cross wind. After that, we drop into a real dry spell. From Thursday the 13th right through to Monday the 24th of August, it’s a long stretch of poor conditions. The swell hangs around 1ft to 2ft, mostly from the south or southeast, with periods mostly short (8 to 10 seconds). The winds are consistently cross, cross-on, or onshore, and the combined energy barely climbs above 100 for most of that time—feeble stuff. There’s a brief flicker on Saturday the 15th afternoon with a 4ft east swell and 500 units of energy, but it’s still a marginal call with questionable tide conditions and a cross wind. Not worth paddlin’ out for.

Then on Tuesday the 26th August, the afternoon shows a 3ft south-southeast swell with 252 in combined energy, but it’s onshore wind and poor—definitely not your day.

Now, the standout—and I mean the *only* standout—comes on Thursday, 27th August morning. The river’s finally got a bit of life: 4ft swell from the south, period 11 seconds, with a light north cross-off breeze. The combined energy hits 353 (moderate), and the data says “expect good surf conditions.” This is clean, with the wind off the land, and that longer period means the waves will have some shape and push. Remember, though, Sakawa River is a river mouth, and with a south swell comin’ in, it’ll line up best on the banks. It’s a fairly consistent spot, so this swell should find its way in. The water temp’s about average for this time of year, nothin’ wild. You’ll have to share the waves—crowds are possible at times. If you’re an intermediate surfer, this is the one to pencil in. Everything else? Save your energy.

Rusty.

Read more