Short Point Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Right, folks, Rusty here. Let's have a look at what's on the table for Short Point. It's a bit of a quiet story for a while, I'm not gonna lie. We're looking at days and days of small, weak, and messy conditions before anything proper shows up.

The water's sitting at 60°, which is pretty much normal for this time of year, so no nasty surprises in the wetsuit department.

Looking at the whole 16-day run, it's a real slow burner. For the first week, from Sunday the 16th right through to Saturday the 23rd, it's mostly a write-off. Tiny waves, poor surf quality, and choppy cross-shore wind. The combined swell energy is just tiny, in the double digits (26, 10, 30, 82...), really weak stuff. There's a brief moment on Thursday morning the 20th and afternoon where it's “surfable but very ordinary,” with a 3 ft cross-off swell, clean enough, but nothing to write home about. Then it fades right back down again.

After a long stretch of nothing, we finally get a real glimmer of hope. The standout is going to be the morning of Tuesday the 25th of August. The wind goes glassy, the swell jumps to a solid 7 ft from the NNE, and the combined energy rockets up to 810 – that's a moderate pulse, and it's gonna feel powerful. The forecast says “expect very good surf conditions.” That's the one. But listen, 7 ft is right on the edge of being too big for beginners. It'll be a proper, solid wave for the experienced crew.

Now, hold on to your boards, because the biggest story is the morning of Saturday the 29th of August. The forecast is showing a massive 13 ft swell from the NE with a period of 9 seconds, and glassy conditions. The wave energy is a massive 2690 – that's a very strong pulse. But the file itself says it's predicted to be too big for this break. It's going to be a washing machine, almost certainly unsurfable and dangerous. That's one for the big-wave chargers on a jet ski, not for us paddle surfers at Short Point.

The following morning, Sunday the 30th, looks like the best realistic option after the 25th. The swell drops to a cleaner 6 ft from the ENE, with a very long period of 9 seconds, and glassy conditions. That's a 641 combined energy – a solid, moderate groundswell. That's going to be a lovely, clean wave, but remember, that long period can make it break a bit straight at a beach break, so it might be better if Short Point has a defined take-off zone.

The last day, Monday the 31st, the swell drops back to a small 3 ft with cross-shore wind. It's back to the ordinary stuff.

So, there it is. A long flat spell, then a couple of windows. The absolute best on offer is the Tuesday morning of the 25th of August – that's your wake-up call. The Sunday morning of the 30th is a solid backup option. The 29th is a monster, but just too big for this spot. Stay patient.

Rusty, signing off.

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