Saltwater Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, this is Rusty checking in with a look at Saltwater, and I gotta be honest with you, it’s a bit of a mixed bag. There’s plenty of action in the water, but it’s often blowing the wrong way or showing up with the wrong face. We’ve got a solid 16-day window, but we’re looking at a long, quiet spell before anything really gets going.

The first week is pretty much a write-off. From Thursday the 20th right through to Saturday the 22nd, we’re trapped in tiny, weak windswell. The combined energy is barely a whisper, with readings like 112 and 95, and the wind is never our friend. It’s cross-on or cross-shore, and the waves are just messy. You’ll be fighting chop more than riding anything. Honestly, it’s not worth paddling out for.

We finally get a glimmer of hope on the morning of Sunday the 23rd. The wind goes glassy, dead calm, and a new pulse of SSW groundswell pushes in at 5ft with a 9-second period. The combined energy jumps to 498 (moderate), and the conditions are described as "glassy." That’s the first real window of the entire forecast. The water temp is sitting at 61°F, which is a full 2°F above the norm for this time of year, so it’s a touch warmer than you’d expect.

But that window slams shut by the afternoon as the wind swings onshore, and we’re back to the doldrums. Monday the 24th offers a whisper of glassy surf at 2ft, but it’s weak. The rest of that week and into the next is a grind of tiny, poor-quality waves or strong, lumpy onshores. By the 28th and 29th, the swell bumps up to 5ft and 6ft, but it’s coming from the NE with a short 6-8 second period, and the wind is honking cross-on at 19 mph. That’s a full-on washing machine, and honestly, with that setup, it’s more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing.

Then, just when you’re about to give up, the morning of Sunday the 30th of August delivers. The wind goes glassy again, and we get a solid 5ft of ENE groundswell with a 9-second period and a combined energy reading of 327 (moderate). It’s described as "expect good surf conditions." That’s the standout of the entire run. It’s clean, it’s got some push, and the glassy conditions will make it a dream. Get on it early.

After that, we have a few days of clean but smaller waves, with a morning offshore on the 31st making for some tidy lines. The real crescendo comes on the 1st of September. The morning is a bit sketchy, but Tuesday afternoon brings a bigger SSW swell at 5ft with a 9-second period, a strong offshore wind, and combined energy spiking to 713 (strong). That’s the best swell of the whole forecast. The wind is going to hold it open, and it’s going to be firing. The rest of the first week of September keeps a mix of mid-period swell and cross-off winds, but the 1st afternoon is the one to circle on the calendar.

So, to sum it up: the first week is a bin fire. The standout mornings are Sunday the 23rd and Sunday the 30th of August for glassy, clean conditions. But the absolute best on offer is the afternoon of Tuesday, the 1st of September. That’s the big one. Long-range, of course, so keep an eye on the wind, but it looks promising.

Rusty.

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