The Pass Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let's have a look at what The Pass has in store for us over the next couple of weeks. It's a bit of a mixed bag, so we'll need to keep an eye on the charts.

Right off the bat, the water temp is sitting at about 68°, which is just a touch cooler than normal for this time of year, about average overall.

The next week is looking pretty average for the most part. We've got some small, short-period swell from the east, but the winds are all over the place. Tuesday the 25th is a write-off with a cross-onshore breeze making a mess of things. Wednesday the 26th isn't much better with some stormy weather in the mix. Thursday and Friday see the wind swing around to a cleaner cross-offshore, but the swell is still weak with wave energy readings of 103 to 242. That's weak to moderate energy at best.

Friday morning, the 28th is actually our first little glimmer of hope. The swell drops right down to 0.7m (2ft) from the east but the wind goes glassy. It'll be small, but if you've got a longboard, the conditions will be perfect for a few clean, crumbly walls. The energy is only reading 74, so you'll be scratching for the sets.

After that, we get blown out by strong southerlies on Saturday the 29th, and things look messy until Sunday the 30th when a bigger pulse of 2.4m (8ft) south-southeast swell shows up. That's decent size, combined with strong wave energy reading of 1208, but the wind is howling at 30 km/h (19 mph) from the south. It'll be a bumpy, choppy mess, not worth the paddle.

The real stand-out, the one you want to circle on the calendar, is Monday the 31st. The swell settles back to a clean 1.6m (5ft) from the south-southeast, the wind drops to a gentle breeze cross-offshore, and the energy is a solid 545. This is clean, surfable and should be fun for most, especially if you're a confident intermediate. That afternoon, it goes to a sweet offshore breeze as well.

Friday, September 4th is the other big one to have on your radar. We get a long-period groundswell from the south-southeast, with a period of 18 seconds and a huge wave energy reading of 1103 in the morning. The wind is clean and cross-off, but it jumps to a moderate offshore in the afternoon - that's the best session of the whole forecast in my book. At 1.3m (4ft) with that long period, the waves will have plenty of power and shape, and being a point break, The Pass handles that sort of groundswell beautifully.

Now, a word of warning. The Pass is a spot that can get crowded, especially when it's looking this good, so expect plenty of company on the water, particularly for that session on September 4th.

After that incredible Friday, the swell fades back down, and the wind turns messy again for the rest of the second week. There's a small spike on the 8th of September, but it's from the wrong direction and the wind is cross-onshore, so it's a miss. We're looking at small, choppy days for the tail end of the outlook.

So, to sum it up: this week is mostly a wash. If you're desperate, grab a longboard for the glassy Friday the 28th. But the two days to save your energy for are Monday, August 31st and Friday, September 4th. That last one in particular with the offshore breeze and the long period groundswell... that's the session.

Rusty.

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