Spanish Bay-South Moss Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let's have a look at what the ocean’s got cookin' for Spanish Bay-South Moss over the next couple of weeks. I’ll be straight with you – it’s not looking like a classic stretch for this corner, but let’s dig into the details.

First thing’s first, for the first surf we can really talk about, which is Saturday the 8th, the water's sitting at 60°, which is right about normal for this time of year. No big anomaly there, just your standard conditions.

Now, that Saturday afternoon, the swell is a tiny 2ft from the SSW, but the period is a long 17 seconds. That’s a nice, clean groundswell, but there’s just no size to it. The wind is light from the WNW, but the call is for poor surf conditions. The combined energy is a weak 308, so it's barely a pulse. Not worth getting wet for.

The next week or so is a real grind. We've got a stretch from Sunday the 9th through to around Thursday the 13th where there's marginal surf, but the wind is just constantly messing it up with a cross-onshore flow. Swell heights hover around the 4ft to 6ft mark, coming from the NW or WNW with a short period of 9-10 seconds. This is that short-period windswell, and with the onshore wind, it's going to be a choppy, lumpy mess. The scores are low, and honestly, you'd be fighting it more than surfing it. The combined energy is moderate, sitting in the 400-600 range, but it's all this messy, short-period stuff. It’s not going to be pretty.

Things get interesting on the morning of Thursday the 13th. The wind swings around to the SSW at 12 mph as a cross-offshore, and the ocean is described as clean. The swell is 4ft from the WNW, but the period is still a poor 9 seconds. It’s a slight improvement, but still not a standout by any means.

The period does lengthen for the latter part of that week, into the 15th and 16th. The swell drops to a consistent 3ft from the SSW, but the period stretches out to a lovely 16 seconds. The wind is light, almost glassy at times, but it's labelled as a cross-on. It’s cleaner, no doubt, and the energy is still moderate (around 500-600), but the size is just not there. These are fun, small, clean days if you’ve got a longboard and no expectations, but it's not the kind of thing you'd set an alarm for.

Then we hit another rough patch. From the 17th through the 20th, the wind goes straight onshore, and the call is for poor surf. The swell stays small, in the 2ft to 3ft range, and even when the period is decent, the wind kills it. The combined energy stays moderate, but the quality is just junk.

There is a flicker of hope on the 22nd and 23rd. The wind starts to become more cross-shore or light cross-on. On Saturday the 22nd, the swell is 4ft from the WNW, but the period is a short 7 seconds. The next day, Sunday the 23rd, the swell is up to 6ft from the WNW, but again, the period is a short 9 seconds. The winds are light, which is a huge plus, but these are still short-period, wind-driven waves. The combined energy is moderate, but the quality will be mediocre.

So, what’s the best on offer? Honestly, there’s no true standout in this window. If I had to pick, I’d say the mornings of the 15th and 16th of August are your best bet. They might have smaller waves, but the longer period and light winds will give you the cleanest, most user-friendly waves of the whole stretch. It’s a case of the cleanest option rather than the biggest.

This is a stretch that’s more about managing expectations. The swell is there, but the wind and short periods are going to keep the quality down. It’s not a total loss, but it’s not going to be a week to remember. The setup is looking more interesting for the kite surfers than us paddle surfers for much of the period, to be honest.

Keep an eye on it, but don't get your hopes up too high. This is Rusty, signing off.

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