Sandtracks Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let's have a look at what's on the table for your local stretch.

Right off the bat, I gotta be straight with you – the next week and a half is looking pretty flat and messy. Sandtracks is a reef setup that's exposed to the SSE swell window, and it's fairly consistent, but the conditions we've got coming in are just not playing ball. We're looking at a run of poor to marginal surf from Monday, August 17th, all the way through until around Tuesday, August 25th. The wind is locked in from the east and northeast, blowing cross-shore at 15 to 16 mph, which is putting a real chop on the surface. The water temp is about average for the time of year, so no complaints there, but that's about the only good news.

The combined swell energy is moderate, hovering between 250 and 850 during that first week, but the wave quality is just poor. We get a few moments of marginal surf on the 19th and 20th, with some long-period SW groundswell (16-18 seconds) and tiny waves around 2 ft to 3 ft, but it's not worth paddling out for. The best bet in that first week is probably the Wednesday afternoon on the 19th, with a light east breeze and a 2 ft SW swell, but it's still marginal. Honestly, it's a bit of a waiting game.

Now, things start to get a bit more interesting towards the end of the month. From Tuesday, August 25th, we start to see a building trend. The swell picks up, and by the morning of Thursday, August 27th, we're looking at a solid 8 ft easterly swell with a short period of 8 seconds. The combined energy jumps up to 1542, which is strong energy, but the wind is still a cross-shore easterly at 16 mph, keeping it a bit lumpy and cross-chop. That size is really only for the experienced crew.

The real standout, if you can call it that, looks like Friday, August 28th. The swell holds at 8 ft, but the period bumps up to 11 seconds from the east-northeast, which is a much better direction for Sandtracks. The combined energy is a solid 1720, so there's plenty of power. The wind is still cross-shore, but a moderate 13 mph breeze. It's still marginal, but it's the best we've got in the whole 16-day window. The morning session on the 28th is your best bet.

After that, it starts to drop off again into the start of September, with the wind picking up to 19 mph and the swell fading. So, if you're keen, keep your eyes on that Friday, August 28th. It's not perfect, but it's the most promising day in a pretty bleak outlook.

Rusty.

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