The Jetty Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Let’s be straight with you: the next two weeks at The Jetty are a tough watch. There’s hardly any solid energy coming in and what’s on offer is mostly weak, choppy, and messy. The water temp is sitting at 77° – that’s much warmer than normal for this time of year by 4°, so you can leave the wetsuit at home.

We start off right now, Tuesday 25 August, with a tiny 1ft SE swell, period 11 seconds. That long period would normally give a bit of shape for a sandbar, but with light cross-off wind and a combined energy of only 21 – that’s weak as dishwater – you’re looking at poor surf conditions all day. Wednesday 26 August is no better: Wednesday morning there’s a glassy 1ft SE swell, period 9 seconds, energy just 27 – it’s clean but flat. Wednesday afternoon the wind swings onshore and it’s choppy.

Honestly, Thursday 27 through to Monday 31 August are a write-off. Swell stays below 2ft, winds are cross-onshore or cross, and the energy barely cracks 70. It’s small, bumpy, and not worth paddling out for. Even the “clean” moments on Friday 28 have only 2ft and energy in the 50s – surfable but ordinary at best.

Tuesday 1 September brings a 15-second period groundswell at 1–1ft from the SE, but cross winds and energy still under 85 keep it flat and messy. That pattern holds through to Thursday 3 September – still under 2ft, cross-onshore winds, nothing doing.

Now, there’s a faint glimmer in the second week. Saturday 5 September sees the best pulse of the outlook: a 3ft ESE swell, period 11 seconds, with gentle offshore wind in the morning (WNW at 9 mph) turning to light cross-off in the arvo. The combined energy climbs to 132 in the morning, 149 in the afternoon – moderate wave energy, the highest we’ll see all fortnight. For a beginner-friendly sandbar like The Jetty, that’s actually your standout window. The swell direction (ESE) matches the optimum SE direction well enough, and offshore wind means clean, lined-up waves. It’s still small, but it’s the pick of a pretty poor bunch. Crowds are possible here – they’re listed as “sometimes” – but on a day this marginal, you might have it mostly to yourself.

Sunday 6 September offers 4ft from the SSW in the morning with cross-off wind, energy hitting 201 (moderate energy), but the period is a short 6 seconds – that’s windswell, bumpy and weak. The afternoon gets choppy. Monday 7 September is back to small and messy, with a brief glassy moment in the afternoon (2ft SSE, period 8 seconds, energy 72) that’s clean but tiny.

From Tuesday 8 September onward, it’s a dead end: swell drops to 1ft, energy in the teens, with onshore or cross-onshore winds gusting up to 25 mph on Wednesday 9 September. That setup is more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing.

All in all, the only half-decent session in the next 16 days is Saturday 5 September – 3ft ESE, offshore wind, clean at The Jetty. It’s not a bomb, but it’s the one to aim for. Everything else is flat, choppy, or both.

Rusty.

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