The Cove Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Righto, let’s have a look at what’s on the cards for The Cove over the next couple of weeks.

Truth be told, the start of the run doesn’t look like much fun. We’ve got Tuesday and Wednesday being written off with messy, cross-shore winds and lumpy conditions, so I wouldn’t bother paddling out just yet. Water temp is sitting at 56°, which is bang on average for this time of year, so no surprises there. The swell is there but the wind is just ruining it.

Thursday and Friday see a bit of a shift. On Friday morning, we finally get a window – a small 1ft swell from the WNW with a period of 9 seconds (moderate energy, 63). The wind swings to a moderate offshore breeze from the south, and conditions are clean. It’s small and only a 1/5, but it’s the first real chance for a paddle. After that, the wind picks up again, so grab that early session.

The weekend gets a bit more interesting. By Saturday, we’ve got swell building to 6–6ft from the west, period at 9 seconds, and clean conditions with a cross-off breeze. The combined energy jumps into the moderate to strong range (489 to 577). Sunday looks the pick of the whole outlook though – swell around 7ft to 7ft from the west, period stretching to 10 seconds (energy 791–946), and a gentle cross-off breeze in the afternoon. Conditions are clean and that’s a solid, rideable swell. It’s still a marginal call on the tide, but if you time it right, Sunday afternoon will be the best surf of the whole window. That’s a standout.

Monday the 10th and Tuesday the 11th see the swell drop back a bit, with cross and cross-onshore winds messing things up again. Nothing special there. Wednesday the 12th through Thursday the 13th is tiny and not worth a look.

Then we hit the second week. Friday the 14th morning sees a bit of a pulse – 5ft from the NE, period 7 seconds, with a moderate cross-off breeze. It’s clean but short-period and a bit average. After that, the rest of the run through to Wednesday the 19th is mostly small, poor surf with cross-shore winds. There’s one oddity on Monday the 17th – a long-period west swell of 2–2ft with a period of 13–14 seconds (energy 108–290). That’s a proper groundswell, but it’s small, and the wind is onshore or cross, so it’s probably not going to deliver much at The Cove, which is a reef. Could be better at a point or river mouth, but here it’s likely too straight and messy.

So, overall: the standout is Sunday the 9th August afternoon – clean, solid 7ft west swell with light wind. The only other decent shout is Friday morning the 7th for a tiny clean wave. For the rest, we’re looking at long gaps of poor conditions, especially from the 10th through to the 14th, and again from the 15th onwards with only marginal options.

Rusty

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