The Jetty Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Look, I’ve had a good look at what’s on the table for the next couple of weeks, and honestly, it’s a pretty flat and frustrating picture for The Jetty. There’s a long dry spell ahead, so don’t get your hopes up too fast.

We kick off on Saturday, the 22nd of August, but it’s nothing to write home about. The water is sitting at a very unusual 79°—that’s a massive 6° warmer than normal for this time of year, which is really weird and might feel like bathtub soup. Swell is tiny at 1.0ft from the ESE with a period of just 8 seconds, and the combined wave energy is only 28—that’s weak. Wind is onshore from the SE at 9 mph, so it’s messy and poor. The Jetty is a sandbar setup that’s fairly exposed to SE swell, but with this little juice, it’s barely a ripple.

Sunday the 23rd and Monday the 24th don’t get much better. Swell nudges up to 2ft on Sunday mornings, but with a short period of 5 seconds (47 energy), it’s choppy and weak. Winds are cross-off from the WSW at 12-16 mph, so at least the surface gets clean, but there’s no power behind it. Tuesday the 25th drops back to 1.0ft with a long period of 11 seconds—that’s a groundswell, but it’s so small (30 energy) that it barely matters at a sandbar spot like this. The long period might make it straight and close out.

Wednesday the 26th through to Monday the 31st of August is a dead run. Swell stays below 2ft, periods are short to moderate, and winds are mostly onshore or cross-onshore from the S and SE. Combined energy sits in the 20-40 range—weak, weak, weak. Thursday morning the 28th has a moment of glassy conditions early with ENE 3 mph, but the swell is only 1ft at 9 seconds (45 energy), so it’s a flat, clean pond.

We finally get a little bump on Wednesday the 2nd of September. The morning shows 1ft swell from the SE with a 12-second period—that’s a proper groundswell. The combined energy hits 107, which is the first time we see a three-digit number, meaning moderate energy is in the water. Winds are cross-off from the NNW at 9 mph, so the surface looks clean. But it’s still tiny at 1ft, and the Jetty isn’t a reef or point, so that long period might just make it break too straight. It’s surfable, but barely a standout.

From there, the rest of the first week of September stays weak. Swell creeps up to 3ft by the 4th and 5th, but periods drop to 6-8 seconds, and winds are onshore from the E and SE. Energy stays in the 70-85 range, which is still weak-moderate, and the conditions are poor and choppy. The Jetty just doesn’t have the setup to turn this into anything fun.

Overall, there’s no true standout in this 16-day window. The best you can hope for is that glassy, clean morning on the 28th of August, but even then there’s no swell. The longer-range stuff around the 2nd of September is promising in terms of groundswell energy, but it’s still very small and uncertain. Don’t hold your breath.

Rusty.

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