Tea Break Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Right, let’s have a look at what’s coming up for the next couple of weeks at Tea Break. First thing I’ll say is, it’s a tough stretch. This is a consistent reef set-up that ideally needs a bit of North-Northeast direction in the swell to fire, but we’re stuck with a long run of easterly energy and cross-shore winds. Water temp is about average for this time of year, nothing unusual there.

We kick off on Wednesday the 26th of August with a weak little easterly swell, only about 3ft and a short 6 second period. Combined energy is barely there at 68 – it’s weak. Wind is a cross 15 km/h from the ENE, and it’s just not doing the break any favours. The report says poor surf conditions, and I’d agree. Thursday and Friday bring a slight bump in size, maybe 4ft to 5ft, but the period stays short and the wind remains moderate cross-shore. The energy starts to climb a bit, hitting 217 on Thursday arvo, but the quality is still poor.

Saturday the 29th and Sunday the 30th see the swell sitting around 4ft to 5ft, with moderate energy (162 to 232), but the wind is still cross or fresh cross, keeping the surface lumpy. It’s not what you’d call surfable in any quality sense. Then Monday the 31st drops back to 3ft, energy is moderate, but again, poor conditions. There’s really nothing to get excited about until Tuesday the 1st of September.

Now, Tuesday morning is the one glimmer in the whole run. The swell jumps to 5ft from the east, but the period stretches out to 11 seconds – that’s groundswell, and with that comes more energy, hitting 536. The wind is a gentle cross-shore from the ENE at only 15 km/h, so there’s slight cross-chop, but it’s a noticeable step up in power. The report calls it marginal surf forecast, but for this stretch, that’s the best we’re going to see. That Tuesday morning session is your standout. But even then, it’s not perfect.

From the 2nd of September onwards, it’s a long, flat, or poor run. The swell gets smaller – down to 2ft by the 4th, with very weak energy in the 40s and 50s. Winds swing more cross-onshore from the 5th, with light to moderate breezes, but the swell is tiny and the period is short. The 7th of September has a 6ft easterly swell on Monday afternoon, but it’s with a risk of thunderstorms and a cross-onshore wind, and the period is only 6 seconds – that’ll be a lumpy, messy close-out. There’s one brief moment on the morning of the 9th of September where we get glassy conditions with a 4ft easterly swell, but the period is only 5 seconds and energy is low at 114 – it’s surfable, but just very ordinary.

Bottom line: don’t block out your calendar. The only day worth a look is Tuesday the 1st of September morning, when the period and energy finally show up, but keep your expectations low. This break is rarely cooking with this easterly direction, and the wind just won’t line up to make it clean. A few of the afternoons, especially the 7th and 8th, with stronger cross-onshore winds and lumpy chop, might be more interesting for a kite surfer than a paddle surfer, to be honest.

Stay patient, lads. This blank run isn’t normal for the area, but sometimes you just have to wait it out.

Rusty

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