Saltwater Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let's have a look at what's coming up for Saltwater over the next couple of weeks.

The next few days are a bit of a write-off, to be honest. We've got a slow start with nothing really worth paddling out for until Sunday morning. From there, things get interesting, but you'll need to pick your windows carefully.

The first real chance to get wet is Sunday the 23rd of August. The morning is looking glassy with a light rain, and a 3ft south swell, period 12 seconds, rolling in. The combined energy is moderate (238). That long period will help with shape, and with the glassy conditions, it'll be clean. The afternoon stays glassy, too, with a 3ft south swell, period 10 seconds (331 energy). It's not huge, but it's the best we've seen so far.

Monday morning the 24th has a bit of a pulse with a 3ft south swell, period 10 seconds (250 energy), and a light offshore wind from the NNE. It's a marginal call, but if you're keen, it could be worth a look. The afternoon turns ugly with a strong onshore breeze, so get out early.

We hit a bit of a lull again through Tuesday and Wednesday, with only a small window on Wednesday morning the 26th offering a 4ft swell from the ENE, period 7 seconds, and a light offshore wind. The energy is moderate (185), but the short period means it won't have much grunt.

Thursday the 27th is a standout. The morning has a 4ft south swell, period 7 seconds (285 energy), with a clean cross-offshore wind. The afternoon is even better with the same size swell, but a slightly longer 8-second period (353 energy). It's clean both sessions, and the consistency is decent. This is the pick of the first week.

The standout of the whole outlook has to be Monday the 31st of August. The morning is dead glassy, with a 3ft swell from the SSE, but the period is a very long 15 seconds (406 energy). That's proper groundswell energy. It's a point break at Saltwater, so it'll handle that long period beautifully. The crowd factor is "often," so expect company, but for clean, lined-up waves, this is the one.

Looking into the second week, Tuesday the 1st of September has a glassy morning with a 2ft SSE swell, 16-second period (282 energy). It's small but clean. Wednesday the 2nd of September morning has a tiny 1ft swell, but a massive 21-second period (324 energy), with a strong offshore wind. It's clean, but you'll be hunting for the rare set. Sunday the 6th of September afternoon sees a 6ft south swell, 8-second period (721 energy), with a gentle offshore wind. The combined energy is strong, and the offshore wind will groom it nicely. It's one for the experts, as it's over 5ft.

Water temperature is sitting at 66°, which is basically normal for this time of year. The anomaly is only -0.2°, so nothing unusual there.

So, to wrap it up: the best on offer is the glassy morning of Monday the 31st of August with that long-period groundswell, and the clean conditions on Thursday the 27th. Don't bother with the early days, just wait for those windows.

Rusty.

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