Second Beach (Port St Johns) Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, grab your board. Rusty here, and I’ve been staring at the charts for Second Beach. It’s a bit of a mixed bag over the next couple of weeks, but there are a couple of windows where it’ll be worth getting wet.

The ocean’s a bit restless at first, but nothing to write home about. The water is sitting at a nice 71°, which feels a touch warmer than normal for this time of year, so you might get away with a thinner suit.

We kick off on the 5th of August, but it’s messy. A weak 4ft easterly swell with a cross-onshore wind has the place chopped up – not worth the paddle. The energy is weak (410), so leave it.

Thursday morning the 6th is a tease. The swell drops to 2ft, but it’s a groundswell from the SW with a long 16-second period. The wind is clean and cross-offshore, so the surface will be smooth. The catch? The swell is marginal, and the tide will be the boss. It’s a fickle one for the patient surfer.

The real standout is Saturday afternoon, the 8th of August. I’m calling it now. The swell is a clean 3ft from the SSW, with a solid 14-second period. The wind drops to glassy – dead calm. The energy is moderate (683), and the conditions are described as very good. That’s the session to target. Get your shortboard for that one.

Sunday the 9th is a classic tale of two halves. The morning has clean 3ft SSW groundswell (16-second period) with light cross-shore breeze, but it’s marginal. The afternoon turns ugly. The wind picks up to 16 mph from the SSW, the swell jumps to 7ft but the period drops to a pathetic 6 seconds. That’s a short-period windswell, and it’s going to be a bumpy, choppy mess. With the cross-shore wind, it’ll be more of a kite session than a surf session.

Monday the 10th is for experts only. A huge 10ft swell from the SSE rolls in, with the energy going nuclear (2012). That’s a lot of water moving. The wind is strong onshore/cross-shore, so it’s going to be a beast. The file says it’s too big for this break, and I agree. Unless you’re a tow-in legend, stay on the sand.

The following week is a write-off for quality. The swell stays big (6ft to 8ft) but the wind is almost always onshore or cross-onshore, creating chop. The energy is high (over 1500 on some days), but it’s ugly.

Then, a beautiful surprise. Saturday morning, the 15th of August. The wind is dead calm, glassy. The swell is a clean 5ft from the east with a 10-second period. The energy is moderate (510), and the conditions are described as very good. That’s your second standout. It’s a long way off, so keep an eye on it, but it looks promising.

After that, things drop off again. The surf gets small and weak through the 18th, 19th, and 20th, with a lot of cross-onshore chop. There’s a last gasp on the 19th with a 6ft south swell (10-second period) and a light cross-shore, but it’s only marginal.

So, mark your calendar for the 8th and the 15th. Those are your windows.

Rusty.

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