The Cove Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Not gonna lie to you, this is a rough 16 days for The Cove. There’s a long stretch of rubbish surf to get through before anything even starts to look like a wave you’d want to paddle out for.

Start of the outlook (August 25 – September 6): For nearly a week and a half, it’s a write-off. Tiny, choppy, cross-onshore junk from the 25th right through the end of August and into the first days of September. Swell heights barely scrape 0.3ft to 2ft, period all over the place but mostly short and weak (combined energy mostly in the 7 to 47 range). Winds are either cross-on or onshore from the SE/E/ESE – no quality to be found. From the 1st to the 5th of September, it stays flat and frustrating.

September 6 – Sunday morning: A little bump appears – swell hits 3ft from the NNE at 9 seconds, combined energy jumps to 188 (moderate energy for the first time). But it’s still cross-on from the ESE, only a light breeze, so the surf will be lumpy and weak. Not enough to get excited about.

September 7 – Monday morning: Here’s where things finally turn. Swell is 3ft from the NE, 10-second period, with a cross-off breeze from the SW at 3 mph – clean conditions at last. Combined energy sits at 182 (moderate). It’s still only small and fairly ordinary, but it’s surfable and glassy. The first real chance to get wet in a long time.

September 8 – Tuesday morning: The best of the whole period lands here. Offshore wind from the west at 6 mph, swell a touch bigger at 3ft from the NE with an 11-second period (longer period groundswell, good shape but tends to wall up at beach breaks). Combined energy is 220 (solid moderate energy). This is the standout – clean, offshore, with a little push. The Cove is a beach and reef setup, fairly exposed to NNE swell, so that NE direction will wrap in okay. It’s not pumping, but for this stretch it’s a beauty. Crowds can be an issue here sometimes, so get in early.

September 9 – Wednesday morning: Another decent window. 3ft from the NE at 10 seconds, light cross-off from the NNW (6 mph), combined energy 151 (moderate). Clean little runners, but smaller again.

Water temperature is about average for the time of year – nothing unusual to report.

So honestly, the first two weeks are a dud. If you’ve got a board and patience, the mornings of the 7th, 8th, and 9th of September are your only real call. The 8th is the pick with the offshore wind and the longer-period swell. Everything else is either flat or messy.

Rusty.

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