The Fort Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, I’m Rusty. Let’s have a look at what’s shaping up for The Fort over the next couple of weeks. Honestly, it’s a bit of a slow burn – the first wave of the outlook doesn’t arrive until late August and the whole run is a mixed bag of small swell and bumpy conditions, with only a couple of moments that might get your heart rate up.

The Fort is a reef break, consistent, and fairly exposed to southwest swells, which is the direction it likes best. The water temp is sitting at 60°, which is about normal for this time of year. Not much to write home about on the anomaly front.

We kick off on the afternoon of Sunday the 23rd of August. Swell is tiny at 1 feet from the southwest, with a seriously long period of 19 seconds – that’s proper groundswell, but the energy is only moderate (203). Winds are light and cross from the west-northwest, so it’s not completely blown out, but the waves are just too small and weak to get excited about. The commentary calls it poor surf conditions, and I’d agree – you’d be scratching for a ride.

Monday the 24th and Tuesday the 25th stay marginal at best. Swell bumps up slightly to 2 to 2 feet, still from the southwest, with periods around 16 to 18 seconds. The energy climbs a bit (284 to 318) but the wind swings cross-on or cross, and the surface gets choppy. Still no surf worth paddling for. This pattern holds through the rest of that week. Wednesday through to the end of August see the swell hovering around 2 to 3 feet, but the wind picks up – fresh breezes and lumpy cross-chop dominate. The energy numbers stay moderate (258 to 714), but the quality is poor. There’s a moment on the morning of Saturday the 29th where the swell hits 3 feet from the southwest with a period of 18 seconds and moderate energy of 714, but the cross-wind still messes it up. It’s a marginal look at best.

Now, here’s where we get one of the only true standouts in the whole window. On the morning of Friday the 4th of September, we see a jump in swell size to 8 feet from the west-northwest, with a period of 9 seconds. That’s a short-period swell, but the combined energy is strong at 1760 – a big pulse of power. The wind is moderate cross from the west-northwest, which is not ideal but not terrible for a reef break. This is a size that’s really only for experienced surfers – over 8 feet is expert territory, and at 8 feet, it’s pushing the limits for intermediates. The reef should handle that short-period energy okay, but the cross-wind will leave some chop on the face. Still, this is the biggest swell of the whole period and if you’ve got the skills, it’s the morning to be out there. The afternoon sees it back off to 6 feet with similar wind, so the morning window is the pick.

The only other moment that gets a nod is the afternoon of Sunday the 6th of September. The swell comes in at 6 feet from the northwest, period of 9 seconds, with an onshore wind from the south-southwest at just 3 mph – nearly glassy. The combined energy is moderate-to-strong at 980. That light onshore wind will keep the surface pretty clean, and while it’s not a standout, it’s a solid option for competent surfers. Crowds at The Fort can happen sometimes, so don’t be surprised if there’s a few out.

Overall, the first week and a half is mostly small, bumpy, and not worth planning around. The gap between any decent surf runs from the start of the outlook all the way to the 4th of September – that’s a long stretch of nothing special. The 4th of September morning is the real standout, with the 6th of September afternoon as a decent backup. Everything else is either too small, too windy, or too marginal to get keen about. I’d keep an eye on the forecast – it tends not to stay this flat forever.

– Rusty

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