Sandtracks Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here.

Look, I’ll be straight with you – these next couple of weeks are a tough watch. This forecast is mostly a write-off for decent waves, with a long stretch of nothing really worth paddling out for. The only spot on the radar is Sandtracks, and it’s been a battle.

We start off on Saturday 15 August and it’s a no-go. A howling 31 mph cross-shore wind is smashing a 10ft to 13ft easterly swell, creating absolutely horrible conditions. The combined energy is huge (1858 on Saturday morning, jumping to 3054 in the arvo), but it’s completely unsurfable. This continues through Sunday 16 August with a risk of thunderstorms and strong cross-onshore winds – messy and lumpy, no good.

The week that follows is flat and frustrating. From Monday 17 August all the way through to Friday 22 August, the swell drops right off. We’re looking at waist-high dribble, with periods mostly in the cross-shore wind zone. There’s a brief moment on Saturday afternoon 22 August when the wind goes glassy and we get a clean 3ft SSW groundswell at 16 seconds – a long period swell that will be peeling nicely at this reef setup. It’s the only “expect good surf conditions” call in the whole run, but it’s tiny. That 3ft is the standout, but you’ll need a longboard and low expectations.

After that brief glimmer, it’s back to poor conditions. Sunday 23 August through to Wednesday 27 August sees persistent moderate to fresh cross-shore winds and small, weak swell (combined energy mostly in the 300 to 500 range). The water temperature here is about 82°F – pretty normal for the time of year.

The last few days of the outlook, from Thursday 28 August to Sunday 30 August, see a bit more size start to appear. Thursday and Friday have 4ft to 5ft easterly swell with 16 to 18 second periods – that’s proper groundswell energy (combined energy over 1500). But the wind is still a fresh cross-shore breeze, which will chop it up. Not the clean, groomed lines we’d hope for.

The best on offer in this whole 16-day window is that glassy Saturday afternoon 22 August at Sandtracks – it’s the only time conditions line up right, even if the swell is small. The second half of the last week looks promising for size, but the wind just won’t play ball. It’s a frustrating outlook for a spot that can be good, but this time around, it’s mostly about waiting.

Rusty.

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