Shark Island (Cronulla) Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G'day, Rusty here. Look, I'll be straight with you—this isn't a week to get excited about, but if you're patient, there's a couple of windows that might just make it worthwhile. The first solid surf on offer isn't until Sunday the 30th of August, so we've got a gap of about a week of pretty ordinary conditions to sit through.

Let's walk through it. From now, Friday the 21st of August, right through to Saturday the 29th, it's mostly poor. Small, weak swell and bad wind directions. You'll see tiny waves around 0.7ft to 3ft but combined wave energy stays low, often under 150, and the wind is either onshore or cross-shore at best. There's a brief moment on Wednesday the 26th morning with a 3ft swell from the ENE with a period of 8 seconds and a gentle offshore breeze from the SW makes things clean, but it's still only surfable in a very ordinary way—nothing to write home about.

Now, Sunday the 30th of August is where things start to perk up. Sunday morning at Shark Island (Cronulla) we're looking at a 5ft easterly swell, period 8 seconds, combined wave energy hitting 319 (moderate), and the wind goes glassy. That's a standout—clean, glassy conditions on a reef break with a decent sized swell. The water temp is about average for this time of year at 62°, so a steamer is your friend. That morning session is the pick of the whole outlook. Afternoon the wind swings onshore and chops it up, so get in early.

Monday the 31st of August morning holds some promise too. A 5ft ENE swell with period 8 seconds, combined energy at 340, and a cross-offshore breeze from the west at 9 mph should keep it clean. But keep an eye on that swell height—over 5ft, so it's getting into intermediate territory, might be a handful for beginners. The morning is your window before the wind cranks up from the SSW at 19 mph in the afternoon.

After that, it tails off. The first few days of September look small and weak again, with a blip on Saturday the 5th of September morning—2ft from the east, period 10 seconds, glassy wind, but combined energy is only 116, so it's just a small, surfable wave, nothing special.

Overall, the standout is Sunday the 30th of August morning at Shark Island—good size, glassy, and clean. Monday the 31st morning is a solid backup. The rest is a write-off until then. Stay keen, and check back in case the forecasts shift.

Rusty.

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