Tarcoola (Chanteez) Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let's have a look at what's on the table for our stretch of coast.

We've got a serious run of solid, powerful swell coming through, but it's a classic case of "too much of a good thing." The water temp is sitting at a normal 67° for this time of year, so nothing unusual there. The main story is the sheer size of the waves—the combined energy is massive, reading 6187 (moderate to strong wave energy) at times, but the swell height keeps blowing past the 8 ft mark, locking this out for anyone but the most experienced. The real highlight is the first few days, with glassy conditions if you can handle the size.

Tuesday 18th August kicks off with a bang. Tarcoola (Chanteez) is the only break on offer, and early morning is where it's at. We're looking at a solid 12 ft SW groundswell with a long 17-second period, and the wind is glassy from the ENE. It's a premium setup for a heavy, powerful wave, but this is advanced territory only. The morning session will be clean, but that size is going to be a handful. By afternoon, the wind swings SW at 15 km/h and goes cross-on, making it a bit messy. This is the standout period—the morning is as good as it gets, but don't kid yourself about the difficulty.

Wednesday 19th August morning is glassy again with a 8 ft SW swell (15-second period). It's still a big wave, but the clean conditions from the light E wind make it a solid option for the experienced crew. The afternoon gets blown out with a 20 km/h S cross-onshore.

Thursday 20th August sees the swell holding at 8 ft SW with a 16-second period. The morning is clean with a cross-off ESE wind at 20 km/h. It's a big, powerful groundswell, so expect long lulls between sets on a beach break, but the points and reefs will be the go.

Friday 21st August is a repeat—8 ft SW, 15-second period, clean morning with cross-off ESE wind. Again, this is expert territory.

Then we hit a lull. From Saturday 22nd August through to Tuesday 25th August, the size drops, but the wind turns ugly. We're looking at poor to marginal conditions with onshore and cross-onshore winds. The swell is inconsistent and the quality takes a dive. There's a blank run of about four days here where it's not worth paddling out.

Things perk back up on Wednesday 26th August morning. The swell bounces back to 8 ft SW with a solid 16-second period, and the wind is clean from the ESE. This one's got promise, but again, it's big and strong. The afternoon falls apart with a 25 km/h cross-onshore.

Thursday 27th August morning is clean with a cross-off but the swell has dropped to 6 ft. It's a more manageable size and the conditions look alright, but it's a smaller, less powerful wave.

Friday 28th August is an interesting one. The swell is a tiny 3 ft but from a very long-period WSW groundswell at 21 seconds. That's a super long period, which usually means a clean, lined-up wave on the reefs and points, but the size is minimal. The wind is clean and cross-off all day. Not a standout, but a tasty option for a log.

Saturday 29th August morning is the next real standout of this second week. We get a fresh offshore breeze from the ENE at 30 km/h blowing over a 6 ft SW swell (17-second period). That's clean, offshore, and a solid size. The afternoon stays clean with a cross-off wind. This is a great session for an advanced surfer.

The forecast from Sunday 30th August into the start of September gets messy again. The swell stays big—8 ft to 10 ft—but the wind is all over the place, mostly cross-on or onshore, turning the surf to chop. There are a few morning windows with clean, glassy conditions on Tuesday 1st September (10 ft SW, 16-second period, light wind) and Wednesday 2nd September (8 ft SW, 15-second period, cross-off wind), but the size is still huge. These are expert-only sessions.

Overall, the best bets are the glassy mornings on Tuesday 18th, Wednesday 19th, and Friday 21st August for the big-wave crew, and the fresh offshore session on Saturday 29th August. For everyone else, it's a waiting game for a smaller, cleaner day later in the window.

Rusty.

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