Strand (Pipe) Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let's have a look at what's on the cards for the Strand over the next couple of weeks.

Alright, the start of the run is a bit of a mixed bag. We’ve got some solid SW groundswell pushing in, but the winds are playing games. The real standout is going to be Tuesday the 18th. The morning session is where it's at. We’ve got a clean 5.9ft SW swell with a solid 12-second period, and a light cross-off breeze from the SSE is going to keep things tidy. The water is a bit colder than normal for this time of year, sitting at 57.2°, but you won't care when you're sliding into one. The swell energy is pumping (1691), so this is one for the experienced surfers only – it's a bit too big for beginners.

The wind swings more cross-shore and gets a bit stronger through the rest of the week, so Tuesday afternoon and the rest of the week are looking a bit more marginal. There's another pulse of swell on Thursday the 20th morning, with 7.5ft SSW swell, but the wind is a bit stronger. Still, that morning could have some heavy ones if you're on it.

We hit a bit of a flat spell and some rainy wind from the 22nd to the 24th. Not much to write home about there. The next real window of opportunity is looking like Tuesday the 25th. The morning has a clean 5.2ft SW groundswell, with a longer 14-second period and a nice cross-off SSE wind. That's a big tick for shape and power (1075). It’s still an intermediate-to-expert wave.

The real beauty, though, the one that's got my heart racing, is looking at Sunday the 30th of August. The morning is pure magic. The forecast is showing a 6.2ft SSW groundswell with a whopping 19-second period. That’s a very long period groundswell, which means it’s going to have a ton of energy and power – the combined energy is a massive 4245. And the wind? Glassy. Flat calm. The swell will be a bit too big for beginners, but for the experienced crew, that’s going to be an incredible session if it holds. Just remember, a long period swell like that can be a bit straight at a beach break, but the Strand can handle it.

After that, things get a bit messy. We get some more solid SW swell in the first few days of September, but the wind is onshore and lumpy, so it's a hard pass. The surf is there, but the quality is gone.

So, to sum it up: the picks of the run are the morning of Tuesday the 18th for a solid, clean swell, and the morning of Sunday the 30th of August for a potentially epic, glassy, long-period groundswell. The rest is a bit of a gamble with the wind.

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