Steamer Lane-The Slot Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, it’s Rusty here. Let’s cut to it: The Slot is going to be a patience tester for the next two weeks. There’s a whole lot of small, mushy surf to get through before things fire up at the very end.

Right now, we’re in a stretch of weak, cross-onshore slop. It’s tiny – under 3 feet – and the wind is just enough to mess it up. Not worth the paddle. The energy is weak to moderate, around 550, but the swell direction and period are all over the place. You’ll get some ankle-biters but nothing with any push.

Moving into next week, from the 18th, there are a few windows of clean. Tuesday afternoon the 18th goes glassy, with a 3-foot SSW swell and a long 16-second period. It’s still small, but at least it’s clean. The water is running 62°F, which is a solid 4°F warmer than average for this time of year – that's a real treat.

Then we hit a proper lull from the 21st to the 25th. Swell just drops out – we're talking knee-high dribble most days. There’s a brief glassy spell on Saturday the 22nd with some 4-foot WNW groundswell, but it’s weak and broken. This is the desert part of the forecast.

But hold on. The end of the window is where it’s at. The 27th of August starts showing some life – that morning, 7-foot of NW swell, but it’s wind-affected. It’s the Thursday afternoon that’s the real deal: glassy, 6-foot of WNW, and the energy jumps to 708 (moderate). That’s a proper clean wave.

Friday the 28th afternoon is the standout of the whole run. The wind goes dead calm, you’ve got 5-foot of WNW swell, and the energy is cranking at 1097 (strong). That’s the one. Saturday the 29th afternoon is also looking good – glassy with 4-foot SSW, and the energy is pushing 1188 (strong), but it’s not as big or as clean as Friday.

So don’t waste your time for the next week and a half. The 28th afternoon is the big one, with the 29th a solid backup. It’s a long wait, but when that swell fills in, it’ll be worth it.

Rusty.

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