Scarborough South Bay Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, I’m looking at the 16-day window here, and I’ve got to be straight with you – it’s a tough run for Scarborough South Bay. The pattern is flat and weak, with hardly any solid swell pushing through, and on top of that, the wind often turns onshore or cross-shore, ruining what little shape there is. There’s a real gap of consistent, rideable surf; for most of the first week, you’re looking at tiny, wind-affected junk that’s barely worth suiting up for. The best you’ll get is a couple of short windows where conditions are clean, but the swell is tiny.

Let’s start on Saturday the 1st of August. The morning is clear with a light WSW offshore breeze, but the swell is a pathetic 1 ft from the north with a short 8-second period. That’s no energy at all. The water temp is 62°, which is a touch warmer than normal for this time of year, so it’s not freezing, but it’s not going to save the day. It’s poor surf.

The pattern just keeps repeating. Sunday the 2nd has a bit more swell early, 1 ft, but the wind is cross-onshore, and it’s messy. Monday the 3rd sees a bump in wind strength to 19 mph onshore, and the swell gets a bit bigger at 3 ft, but it’s short-period windswell from the east, period of only 4 seconds. It’s poor.

We finally get a small window of better conditions on Wednesday the 5th of August. Early morning, the wind switches to a light offshore from the southwest, and the swell is 2 ft from the northeast, period still short at 6 seconds. It’s described as “surfable waves but very ordinary conditions.” That’s about as good as it gets this week. The water is still a touch warmer than normal, but there’s just no power in the waves.

The only other mention of surfable conditions comes on Sunday the 9th of August. The afternoon is glassy, calm, with no wind, and the swell from the northwest is 3 ft, again short-period at 6 seconds. It’s glassy, so it’ll be clean, but the waves are weak and disorganised. Not a standout, just the best of a bad bunch.

Heading into the second week, the swell stays tiny and the wind is often offshore or cross-off, but the waves are too small to get excited about. On Monday the 10th of August, the swell bumps up to 5 ft from the north with a period of 8 seconds, and the energy is moderate. But the wind is a moderate cross-shore from the north, creating a chop. It’s poor surf. The wind is just too messy.

There is a promising look on Saturday the 15th of August, with a strong offshore wind from the west at 25 mph, but the swell is almost non-existent – 2 ft or less. It’s clean but virtually flat. That’s a hard paddle for no reward.

So, if I have to pick a standout, I’d look at Wednesday the 5th of August morning. It’s the closest to a clean, tiny wave you’ll get, with a light offshore wind and a bit of swell. But really, this whole 16-day run is a write-off for paddle surfing. With the swell so small, the wind so often onshore, and the setup being a beach and point, it’s more interesting for kite surfing than anything else. The water is a touch warmer than average, but that’s the only good news.

Rusty.

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