Short Point Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. I’ll be straight with you – the next couple of weeks are looking pretty flat and grim for Short Point. There’s barely a pulse in the water for the first several days, and even when we get a little bump, the conditions are ordinary. Don’t expect any standouts; this is more of a blank run that’s pretty normal for the area.

The first hint of anything rideable shows up on Thursday, August 20th. The morning will have some clouds and a light cross-offshore breeze from the NNW at 6 mph. Swell is a weak 5 ft from the NNE with a short period of 6 seconds, so it’s messy. Combined energy is low at 173 – just small, weak waves. It stays poor through the afternoon, even with an offshore wind, because the swell is so unimpressive.

Friday, August 21st is a tease – the morning goes glassy with a slight breeze from the NNW at 3 mph, but the swell drops to only 2 ft from the NE at 6 seconds. Energy is barely 38 (weak). It’s clean as a whistle, but there’s almost nothing to ride. That clean, small pattern lingers through the weekend. Saturday, August 22nd morning is dead calm and glassy with 2 ft swell (21 energy), and Sunday, August 23rd is even worse – 1.0 ft (5 energy). If you’ve got a longboard and zero expectations, you might catch a knee-high ripple.

We get a slight lift on Monday, August 24th morning. Calm winds, glassy conditions, and 3 ft from the NE at 6 seconds, energy at 57. It’s surfable but very ordinary – still short-period and weak. Not worth driving for.

The week after is more of the same flat spell, with no real jump in size or quality. Thursday, August 27th afternoon is actually the best-looking window in the whole run. The wind swings light cross-off from the north at 6 mph, and the swell builds to 4 ft from the ESE with an 8-second period – combined energy of 225 (moderate). The forecast says expect good surf conditions, so it’ll be clean and rideable, but don’t expect pumping waves. This is your best bet if you’re itching for a paddle.

After that, it goes downhill again. Friday, August 28th gets blown out by a fresh breeze, and the rest of the month into early September is a mix of poor swell and messy winds. The second week is so quiet it’s barely worth mentioning – small, weak, and inconsistent.

The water temperature is about average for this time of year, so no drama there.

Bottom line: there’s no real standout. If you absolutely have to surf, Thursday, August 27th afternoon at Short Point is the call – clean, light winds, and a bit of energy (225) from the ESE. For the rest, stay home and wax your board for the next run.

Rusty.

Read more