The groyne Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, ol’ mate, Rusty here. Let’s have a proper look at what’s on offer for The Groyne over the next couple of weeks. I’ll tell ya straight up – this is one of those outlooks where you’ll need to pick your moments.

At first glance, the pattern’s pretty flat and disappointing. We’ve got a long stretch of nothing much to get excited about. The water temp is sitting at 68.4°F, which is about 1.4°F cooler than usual for this time of year – so, pretty normal, not a talking point.

The first real chance to paddle out doesn’t arrive until Sunday afternoon, 9 August. That afternoon it’s clear skies, but the wind is coming out of the NE at 12.4 mph, cross-on, making it choppy. Swell is small at 3.0 ft from the east, with a moderate wave energy of 191 (moderate energy). Honestly, it’s poor. Not worth suiting up for.

Monday morning, 10 August, shows some promise – cloudy, cross-off wind from the NNW at 15.5 mph, so the surface will be clean. Swell jumps a bit to 4.6 ft from the NNE, but the period is short at 6 seconds, which means weak, crumbly waves. Marginal at best. The afternoon drops back to 2.6 ft and really ordinary conditions.

Tuesday 11 August through to the middle of the following week is a real flat spell. You’re looking at swell heights between 1.6 ft and 2.3 ft, mostly from the east. Winds chop and change but the surf is either too small or messy. Wednesday morning 12 August is glassy with 2.0 ft east swell and wave energy of 83 (weak) – you could float around on a foamie but don’t expect a proper wave.

Things get a bit more interesting from the 14th onward, but the quality stays poor. By Friday 14 August, swell picks up to 3.6 ft from the SE, but the wind is cross or cross-on, and the period’s only 6-7 seconds. It’s junky, choppy water. This trend continues right through to Sunday 16 August with similar conditions – swell around 3.9 ft to 4.6 ft, but messy.

Now, from Monday 17 August, we start to see more size. The swell builds from 5.2 ft on Monday morning up to 7.2 ft by Wednesday 19 August. That’s pushing into the bigger range – too much for beginners, but for the experienced crew, it’s not the wave quality you’d hope for. Winds are consistently cross-onshore, and wave energy climbs to strong levels (596 on Wednesday morning). But the conditions are described as poor – choppy, onshore, no clean faces. It’s getting chunky but ugly.

The end of the first week into the second week... Saturday 22 August is when I’d get your attention. That morning, the swell jumps to 9.8 ft from the SE with a 10-second period. That’s a seriously solid swell – only for experts. The combined wave energy is 2833 (very strong). Wind is light, cross-shore from the south at 6.2 mph – not perfect, but not terrible. The call is “marginal” though, so tide and local conditions could make or break it. Saturday afternoon the wind turns onshore from the ENE at 9.3 mph, which will chop it up, and the swell drops to 7.9 ft.

Sunday 23 August looks cleaner. Afternoon has a light offshore breeze from the NW at 6.2 mph, with swell at 5.2 ft from the ESE, period 9 seconds. That’s clean surf, moderate energy (391). That afternoon might actually be the best window – manageable size, clean faces, proper waves.

After that, Monday 24 August sees the swell back to 3.6-4.3 ft from the east, with a longer period of 10-11 seconds on the Monday afternoon, which is nice for shape, but the wind is howling cross-off at 15.5 mph, so it’ll be blown out and bumpy.

So, what’s the standout? I’d say keep your eyes on Sunday 23 August afternoon – that NW offshore breeze and 5.2 ft SE swell should give you the cleanest, most fun waves of the whole outlook. The Saturday 22 August morning is the biggest swell of the run at 9.8 ft, but it’s raw and marginal – that’s the one for the brave and experienced only.

Outside of those two windows, it’s mostly a waiting game. The Groyne is a reef break, fairly consistent, and the optimum swell direction is SE, which lines up nicely with the bigger swells. But the onshore winds kill the quality for days at a time. If you’re patient, you’ll score. Otherwise, this stretch might be more about watching the horizon than riding it.

Stay stoked.

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