Spot x Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, it's your local surf reporter Rusty here, and I've got the full lowdown on Spot X.

So, we're looking at a real mixed bag over the next couple of weeks. The pattern is all over the shop – some incredibly promising windows of glassy, long-period groundswell from the southwest, but we have to wade through a lot of wind-chopped, onshore garbage to get to them. The first ten days or so are a write-off for clean surfing, but if you can wait, the end of the first week and into the second has the potential to be absolutely mint, if a little punchy.

Let’s kick it off. The real action doesn't start until Friday the 21st of August. The week before that is a total loss thanks to some hefty, wind-blown swell. A big, strong 13ft to 16ft WSW swell rolls in on Monday the 17th, but it’s pinned with ugly onshore wind, pushing the wave energy up (9200+). That's just brutal, messy, dangerous stuff – for the kites, not for us.

Alright, fast forward to Friday morning the 21st. We’ve still got a solid 13ft swell from the SW, but the direction starts shifting. The wind is a light cross-off from the east, which cleans it up. But hold onto your board shorts for Friday afternoon the 21st. Glass. Pure flat calm. Zero wind. And we’re still looking at a clean, powerful 13ft SW groundswell with a 14-second period. The energy is high (5842). This is gonna be a heavy, testing session. This size, with that period, is strictly for experts. The spot is a reef, which can handle a long-period SW groundswell like this, but don't kid yourself – this isn't a beginner wave.

Saturday the 22nd is a beauty too. We get the prize for the best all-rounder on offer. Saturday morning the swell drops to a much more manageable 10ft from the SW. The wind is light cross-off from the NNE, keeping the faces clean. Saturday afternoon gets even better – the swell is 8ft, still from the SW, and the wind goes completely glassy. This is your stand-out session. For an intermediate surfer with some experience, this is the one to circle. The water temp is a touch warmer than usual at 66°, which is a nice little bonus.

Sunday the 23rd keeps the goods coming. Glassy conditions in the morning with an offshore breeze from the NE as a 7ft SW groundswell rolls through. It drops off a bit in the afternoon, but it's still a clean 8ft.

After that, the swell starts to fade and the wind patterns get messy again. We’ve got a few days of iffy conditions before a big, gnarly pulse of energy pushes through on Wednesday the 26th of August – a 13ft WSW swell with a very long 17-second period and wave energy over 10000. But the wind is straight onshore again, making it a total mess. A real shame.

The very end of the outlook, around the 30th of August, shows some promise with another 13ft SW swell, but the onshore wind is likely to ruin it again. We’ll have to wait and see how that one tracks.

So, to put a bow on it: the clear winner is Saturday the 22nd of August, with the morning being a solid choice and the afternoon potentially being the best glassy, user-friendly day of the whole window. The runner-up is Friday afternoon the 21st for the big-wave chargers.

Stay safe, and I'll see you in the water.
Rusty.

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