The Harbour Surf Break

Lat Long: 57.14° N 2.06° W

The Harbour Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Issued: 12 pm 23 Aug 2026 (local time)

Forecast update in  hr  min

Today's The Harbour sea temperature is
14.0°C
0.2° 

The Harbour surf forecast is for near shore open water. Breaking waves will often be smaller at less exposed spots.


The Harbour surf forecast from 23 Aug 2026:

  • Best quality surf: Friday 28 Aug, 10AM (local time) - 5ft (1.6m), 8s period, ENE swell with glassy winds.
  • Most powerful swell: Friday 28 Aug, 4PM (local time) - 5.5ft (1.7m), 9s period, ENE swell with 427 kJ wave energy.
  • Next surfable swell (1★+): Friday 28 Aug, 10AM (local time) - 5ft (1.6m), 8s period with ENE swell.

Best Forecast Surf Conditions for The Harbour this week:

The surf forecast for The Harbour over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Friday (Aug 28) at 10AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 1.6m and 8s period. The wind is predicted to be glassy as the swell arrives.

The most powerful waves expected at The Harbour in the next 16 days are 1.7m 9s and forecast to arrive on Friday (Aug 28) at 4PM. Winds are predicted to be cross-offshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 1.7m 8s period and expected on Sunday (Aug 30) at 4PM.

Wave TypeTime (BST) & Date Wave Height & Period
Next good surf (1 star+)10AM (Fri 28th Aug)5ft (1.6m) 8s
Best Surf10AM (Fri 28th Aug)5ft (1.6m) 8s
Most Powerful 4PM (Fri 28th Aug)5.5ft (1.7m) 9s

Table - best surf conditions forecast for The Harbour over the next 16 days.


The Lowdown

G’day, it’s Rusty here. Let’s be straight with you: the next couple of weeks at The Harbour are looking flat-out ordinary for most of the stretch. We’ve got a long dry spell on the cards before anything worth paddling out for shows up, so don’t rush to grab your board just yet.

The first real surf recommendation doesn’t come until Friday the 28th of August. Before that, it’s a ghost town out there. The water’s sitting at about 57°, which is pretty much spot on for this time of year – nothing weird going on with the temperature. But the waves, or lack of them, are the story. We’ve got days of nothing, a little pulse of knee-high slop around the 25th and 26th, but it’s all junky, short-period wind chop with the wind all over the shop. Not worth your time.

Then, on Friday morning the 28th, things finally wake up. The wind drops right out to glass, and we’re looking at a clean 5ft swell pushing in from the ENE, with a period of 8 seconds. The energy jumps to a solid 318 – that’s moderate, but it’s the best we’ve seen. The Harbour is a beach/groyne setup, and this is a bit of a peaky, short-period swell, so it should be breaking with some shape. It’s not huge, but on a glassy morning, that’s your window. Friday afternoon still has that 6ft ENE swell, but the wind swings around to a cross-off at 12 mph, which will keep it clean, though the tide might be a bit of a question mark. Still, that Friday is the standout of the whole run.

After that, it’s back to the doldrums. Saturday the 29th is a write-off with a strong cross-onshore wind, and the swell backs off to below 3ft. Sunday the 30th is just as rough. Then Monday the 31st throws us a bone: a 4ft NE swell with a 9-second period and a proper offshore wind from the WSW. It’s a gentle offshore too, so the surface should be clean. That’s another spot worth your time if you missed Friday, and it’s not as big, so it’s a bit more user-friendly for the intermediates.

After that, it’s a long, frustrating stretch. From the 1st of September all the way through to the 7th, the surf basically dries up. We’ve got some clean but tiny days, some junky cross-chop, and then the wind absolutely howls out of the SSW with near gale force on the 7th – that’s not surfable, that’s just messy mayhem. The energy drops to nada, and we’re left staring at a flat, choppy ocean.

Look, this run is pretty bleak. We’ve got a couple of windows – the Friday morning and Monday arvo – and that’s about it. The long-range stuff into the second week is just a promise of nothing. If you’re keen, you’ve got to be on it for that Friday the 28th morning. It’s the cleanest, biggest swell of the whole period, and with the glassy conditions, it’s the one to make time for. Everything else, you might as well stay home and watch the forecast change.

Stay salty.

Rusty

Short Range Forecast

Mostly dry. Very mild (max 16°C on Sun morning, min 13°C on Mon night). Wind will be generally light.

Days 4-6 Weather Summary

Heavy rain (total 24mm), heaviest during Thu night. Very mild (max 16°C on Wed morning, min 14°C on Wed night). Wind will be generally light.

Sunday
23
Monday
24
Tuesday
25
Wednesday
26
Thursday
27
Friday
28
Saturday
29
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
Rating
(10 max)
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
1
1
0
0
0
Swell
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Wave
Height (m)
Direction
Period (s)
0.8
NNE
8
0.7
NNE
8
0.6
NNE
7
0.4
NNE
7
0.4
NE
7
0.4
SSE
4
0.3
SE
3
0.3
ESE
3
0.3
ENE
4
0.4
SE
6
1.1
ESE
6
1.3
ESE
7
1.3
ESE
6
1.3
ESE
6
1.4
E
7
1.6
ENE
8
1.7
ENE
9
1.2
ENE
8
0.9
ENE
7
0.6
E
6
0.4
SE
6
Wave Graph
Metric surfscale
Energy kJ
0
0
0
0
0
5
2
2
3
9
80
134
143
143
173
318
427
181
78
30
9
Wind (km/h)
5
WSW
15
SSE
15
SSE
20
SSE
20
SSE
10
S
15
SE
15
ESE
10
SE
15
ENE
15
E
15
ENE
25
ENE
10
ESE
20
NE
5
SSW
20
S
10
NNE
30
NNW
30
NNW
30
NNW
Wind State
glassy
cross-off
cross-off
cross-off
cross-off
cross-off
cross
cross
cross
cross-on
cross-on
on
cross-on
cross-on
on
glassy
cross-off
on
cross-on
cross-on
cross
High Tide
11:08AM3.27m
11:23PM3.43m
12:09PM3.42m
00:16AM3.62m
12:57PM3.61m
00:59AM3.83m
1:36PM3.78m
1:35AM4.02m
2:10PM3.94m
2:08AM4.19m
2:43PM4.06m
2:40AM4.31m
3:14PM4.14m
3:12AM4.39m
Low Tide
5:09PM1.96m
6:00AM1.64m
6:07PM1.79m
6:45AM1.39m
6:48PM1.60m
7:21AM1.15m
7:24PM1.39m
7:53AM0.93m
7:57PM1.20m
8:24AM0.75m
8:29PM1.04m
8:54AM0.62m
9:00PM0.93m
part cloud
part cloud
part cloud
part cloud
clear
part cloud
clear
clear
clear
clear
part cloud
rain showers
light rain
cloud
heavy rain
light rain
part cloud
rain showers
cloud
cloud
rain showers
<span class="translation_missing" title="translation missing: en.weather_tables.sunrise">Sunrise</span>
5:50
5:52
5:54
5:56
5:58
6:00
6:01
<span class="translation_missing" title="translation missing: en.weather_tables.sunset">Sunset</span>
8:30
8:27
8:24
8:22
8:19
8:16
8:14
 mm
1
1
18
2
2
1
Temp °C
16
16
15
15
15
14
14
13
14
16
16
15
14
15
15
14
14
14
15
15
13
Feels °C
15
13
12
11
11
12
12
11
13
14
14
14
11
15
14
14
10
13
10
10
8
  • Map Icons:
  • Break
  • Live Wave Height (m)
  • Live Wind Speed (km/h)
  • Surf Rating (10 Max)
  • Ocean Swells (m)
  • Wind Speed (km/h)
Map placeholder
How to use the Wavefinder 
submit an eyeball surf report

Quick surf report for The Harbour:

join our community of surf reporters

FREE! Surf-Forecast.com widget for your website

The surf report / weather widget below is available to embed on third party websites free of charge and provides a summary of our The Harbour surf forecast. Simply grab the html code snippet that we provide and paste it into your own site. You can choose your preferred language and metric/imperial units for the surf forecast feed to suit users of your site. Click here to get the code.


Information about the The Harbour Surf forecast

The above surf forecast table for The Harbour provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at The Harbour can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our The Harbour surf forecast is unique since it includes wave energy (power) that defines the real feel of the surf rather than just the height or the period. If you surf the same spot (The Harbour) regularly then make a mental note of the wave energy from the surf forecast table each time you go. Very soon you may start to choose your surf days based on the wave energy alone combined with our forecast of favourable offshore wind conditions. Our star ratings will help here and of course you will also find the usual wave height and period predictions on our surf forecasts as well as a full break down of the swell components under our advanced users option (to reveal that, click the little Einstein character under the tide times).

Further information to help with frequently asked questions about our surf forecast for The Harbour may be found under the help tab on the top menu and also by moving your mouse over the question marks on the surf forecast table itself. Please always bear in mind that the forecast is for near-shore open water and local factors at each surf break influence the actual breaking wave height, such as the beach / reef profile, water depths offshore and shelter.

Are you planning a holiday in Scotland - East Coast? If you are looking for accommodation near The Harbour, camping, hotels and holiday cottages in Scotland - East Coast, consider staying in Aberdeen which is 3 km (2 miles) away. Other places in and around Scotland - East Coast where you can find information about places to rent, and car hire include Charlestown which is 6 km (4 miles) away, Peterhead, Montrose and Fraserburgh.

Nearest locationNearest