Tamarack Ave. Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright crew, Rusty here. Let’s chew the fat on what’s ahead. Gotta level with ya – this 16-day stretch is a lean one. We’ve only got one spot to talk about, and even that’s a struggle. There’s a big ol’ gap with no real surf to get stoked on, so don’t go booking time off work just yet.

We start on Thursday, August 13th with a bit of a pulse, but it ain’t pretty. Tamarack Ave. is a beach and jetty spot, open to the west, but the wind’s a pain. It’s blowin’ from the WSW at 6 mph, which is a cross-onshore. That means small, bumpy waves. You’re lookin’ at a tiny 2ft swell from the SW with a very long period of 16 seconds. The combined energy is weak, sittin’ around 340 – not enough grunt to do much. Water temp’s average for this time of year.

Thursday arvo’s worse, same wind straight onshore, messin’ up the 3ft swell. Just poor. The whole first week’s the same story – Friday, Saturday, Sunday, the wind stays cross-onshore, mostly from the W at 9 mph, and the swell never gets above 4ft. The period’s long, 14 to 18 seconds, so it’s groundswell, but the direction’s wrong and the wind’s killin’ it. The energy gets up to 475 to 717, which is moderate, but it’s all for nothin’ with that chop.

Come Monday the 17th, it’s still flat and choppy. No change. The wind eases back to 6 mph on Tuesday the 18th, and it shifts to a cross-offshore (onshore), but the swell’s even smaller – just 2ft from the SSW. The energy drops to 440. Still poor.

Now, the second week – from the 19th onward – is even quieter. The swell stays below 3ft, mostly in the 1ft to 2ft range. The wind is a mix of light and gentle breezes, but often straight onshore or cross-onshore. The period hangs around 13 to 19 seconds, so still long-period groundswell, but there’s just not enough height to do anythin’. The combined energy falls into the 100-400 range, which is weak. The best you’ll get is a “marginal” call for Wednesday the 26th afternoon, with a 2ft SW swell, period 16 seconds, and a cross-onshore breeze at 6 mph. But that’s still flat.

If you’re an advanced surfer and you’re really keen, you might find a knee-high wave that Thursday morning the 13th or a few other days, but with the wind almost always messy, this setup looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing. And the crowds at Tamarack are often there, so you’d be squabblin’ over nothin’.

There’s a big gap here – almost the whole 16 days – with no solid recommendations. That’s just how it is for this area right now. It’s a quiet spell, and it happens. Forecasts can turn, but for now, it’s a tough spot.

Rusty

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