The Pass Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, I’m Rusty. Let’s talk about what The Pass is throwing at us over the next couple of weeks. We’ve got a clean start with offshore winds and moderate wave energy (365 to 531) lasting through to Wednesday the 19th. Water temp is 20°, right about average for this time of year.

Monday the 17th kicks off cloudy with a cross-off ESE breeze, but the surf is clean enough. Swell around 1.8m from the ESE with a short 7-second period – a bit jumbled but rideable. By the afternoon, it clears up and the wind goes offshore, with the swell bumping to 1.9m from the SE and the period stretching to 8 seconds. Energy hits 467, and it’s looking real good.

Tuesday the 18th is the clear standout. Morning brings light rain, but a solid 1.9m SE swell with 8 seconds and a gentle offshore breeze. Energy is pumping at 515, and it stays clean all day. The afternoon is even better – clear skies, moderate offshore wind, and 531 energy. This is the session to aim for: consistent, clean, and not too big.

Wednesday the 19th stays clean. The morning offers 1.5m from the SE with a longer 11-second period – that’s groundswell, meaning better shape. Light cross-off breeze, energy at 582. The afternoon drops to 1.4m, but it’s still offshore and glassy. Real nice.

Thursday the 20th gets messy. The morning has a cross-shore breeze and a jumbled 1.7m from the ESE with only 8 seconds – energy dropping to 327. Not great. The afternoon improves with a NE cross-off and a smaller 1.2m, but the period is short at 7 seconds. Clean but weak.

Then things go flat. From Friday the 21st, the wind turns cross-onshore and the swell drops below 1.0m. Energy plummets to 130 and below. There’s a stretch of poor surf through to the 24th, with only a brief glassy moment on the morning of Sunday the 23rd – 0.9m from the ENE, 8 seconds, but energy is a weak 85. Not worth it.

Monday the 24th and Tuesday the 25th stay small and choppy. Wednesday the 26th has stronger winds but still no real swell.

Now, there’s a flicker of hope. Saturday the 29th of August – that’s over a week out, so take it with a pinch of salt – we get a sudden jump: 2.0m from the NNE with a short 7-second period, but energy is moderate at 414. The morning has a light offshore breeze, so it should be clean. The afternoon drops to 1.6m from the north, period 6 seconds, but energy surges to 517 with a gentle offshore. For a point break like The Pass, that short-period NNE swell might lack punch, but the offshore wind could make it fun.

After that, from the 30th of August, it all fades again – cross-off winds and small, weak surf through to the start of September.

Bottom line: the best of it is Tuesday the 18th and Wednesday the 19th. The Pass is consistent, but crowds are often an issue, so get out early. The rest of the window is a long, flat, disappointing stretch.

This is Rusty, signing off.

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