St Mikes Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here with a look at the local surf. Gotta give it to you straight – this 16-day outlook is a tough one. There’s no obvious day to get excited about. It's gonna be a long stretch of poor surf and messy winds. The ocean's gonna look like a washing machine most of the time.

The spot we're watching is St Mikes. It's a reef break, and it's fairly consistent when there's swell, but you've gotta share the waves with the regulars. Water temp is about what you'd expect for this time of year.

We start off this Saturday, August 29th. There's some swell in the water, around 3ft from the SSE with a 12-second period, but a stiff 22 mph cross-shore wind from the NE is just gonna mess the surface up. The combined energy is weak (257). Don't bother paddling out. That afternoon it's even smaller.

Sunday the 30th sees a bump in size to just over 5ft from the S, but the period drops to a measly 7 seconds – that's just wind chop. The energy is moderate (328), but with an 18 mph cross-shore wind, it's still a bumpy mess. Too big for beginners and no power behind it.

Monday the 31st is a total write-off with tiny 2ft waves and weak energy (33). Tuesday, September 1st, is no better – 2ft of onshore junk.

We move into a real quiet spell. The surf stays poor with onshore winds and short-period slop. Then Thursday the 3rd rolls around, and it gets interesting, but not in a good way. The swell jumps to 12ft from the SSW, but with a short 7-second period. The combined energy is strong (998), and the wind swings offshore from the SW at 18 mph, making it clean. But 12 feet of short-period swell on a reef is a beast. That's for experts only, and the tide might make it a terrifying closeout.

Friday the 4th and Saturday the 5th are still no good. There's a big long-period groundswell on the 5th – 5ft from the S with a 16-second period and very strong energy (1145). But the wind is cross-onshore, putting bumps on the face. At a reef, that long period might make the waves too straight and fast.

From the 6th onwards, the wind turns onshore again and the swell energy dries up. We're looking at weak energy (all under 250) and strong, nasty cross-shore breezes. The 11th and 12th have clean offshore winds, but only for tiny 2ft waves. It's basically flat.

So, here's the bottom line: there are no good surf options in this 16-day window. The only real spike is that big, nasty 12-footer on the 3rd, which is a short-period monster. Put the board away and wait for the next one.

Rusty.

Read more