Smugglers Cove Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s coming up over the next couple of weeks.

Honestly, I gotta be straight with you – it’s a pretty bleak run for Smugglers Cove. The whole forecast is a long stretch of poor surf conditions, and there’s not a single standout day in the bunch. We’re looking at a solid two-week gap with nothing really worth paddling out for. The first week and a half is just a write-off, with the only tiny flicker of life showing up on the edges of the second week.

The water temp is sitting at 59°F, which is about 0.5°F cooler than average for this time of year, so nothing too wild there, just your standard chilly dip.

Starting on Thursday the 6th of August, we’ve got a tiny 4ft swell from the NW, but it’s getting chopped up by a cross-onshore wind. The combined energy is weak (198), and the period is a short 8 seconds, so it’s just messy. Same story rolls through the weekend – small, weak NW swells with periods of 6 to 7 seconds and cross-shore winds. The combined energy is barely a whisper (109 to 181). The 9th of August has a brief moment of clean conditions in the afternoon, but the swell is only 3ft and the wind is cross-off, so it’s clean but not surfable.

The long-period swells that start popping up from the SW on the 9th through the 11th have periods of 14 to 19 seconds, but the heights are tiny – 1.0ft to 1ft. The combined energy with those long periods is still low (65 to 116). That’s a groundswell that’s just passing through without any real size.

The middle of the week on the 12th and 13th sees a bit of a bump in swell height, up to 4ft on the 12th afternoon and 5ft on the 13th, with combined energy climbing to 271 and 376, but it’s all NW windswell with a short period of 7 to 8 seconds. The wind is cross-onshore, so it’s going to be a lumpy, choppy mess.

The only time we get anything that could be considered a surfable window is the very end of the forecast. On the 18th of August, we finally see a proper swell – 5ft to 6ft from the WNW with a solid 13-second period. The combined energy jumps way up to 907 (Tuesday morning) and 1116 (Tuesday afternoon), which is moderate to strong energy. But the wind is cross and cross-onshore, and the forecast calls it marginal. That’s a lot of power, but the conditions aren’t clean. It’s a tricky one – the size is there, but it’s not going to be pretty. Even so, with that much energy, if you’re an experienced surfer, it might be the only thing worth checking. Remember, a long period swell like this (13 seconds) tends to line up better at a point or reef, but at Smugglers Cove, an exposed spot, it could be a bit straight and unruly.

The rest of the second week from the 19th onward drops back down to 3ft to 5ft swells with onshore and cross-onshore winds. Nothing to get excited about.

So, the hard truth is there’s nothing to recommend. The best on offer is Tuesday the 18th of August, with a 5ft to 6ft WNW swell and a 13-second period, but it’s a marginal call with the wind. If you’re desperate, you could look at it, but don’t expect much.

Rusty.

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