The Patch Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, folks, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what The Patch has cookin’ for us.

To be straight with you, the next week and a bit is gonna be a real grind. We’ve got a long stretch of pretty weak, messy surf coming up. From Wednesday the 5th right through until about Friday the 14th, it’s mostly small, cross-onshore slop. The wave energy is stuck in the low to mid hundreds most of that time, which means the waves are just too gutless and the wind’s never really working in our favour. You’ll see a bit of a bump in size around Sunday the 9th and Monday the 10th where the swell pushes up to about 5 ft, but that’s coming from a short-period windswell (around 10 seconds) and the wind is messy. That sort of combo is gonna produce some lumpy, weak lines – not really what you’d paddle out for.

Things *finally* start to look up later on. Sunday the 16th afternoon is where the tide starts to turn. We get a clean, cross-off breeze and the swell holds around 3 ft from the SW, with a period stretching out to 15 seconds. That’s proper groundswell energy, with combined energy reading 418. It’s not big, but it’s gonna have some shape and push. That clean, glassy feeling in the water is what we’ve been waiting for.

Monday the 17th morning keeps that clean vibe going, with a 3 ft SW swell and a cross-off wind. The period is 14 seconds, so those sets will have some punch for the size. The energy is still decent at 331. This is a solid little window for a longboard or a fish.

Then, right at the tail end, Wednesday the 19th morning looks like a real gem. Light offshore breeze from the WNW, swell holding at 2 ft from the SW, but the period jumps to 16 seconds with a combined energy of 295. That’s a long-period groundswell with no wind to chop it up – textbook clean surf.

Best of the Best: I’m calling Sunday afternoon the 16th and Monday morning the 17th as the standouts. The water temp is around 58°, which is pretty normal for this time of year, so a good 4/3 wetsuit is the call. The Patch (The-Patch) is a fairly consistent beginner-friendly spot, and it’s exposed to that SW swell direction. The wind will be clean and cross-off, which means smooth faces. Don’t expect a big crowd buster here – the crowds are noted as ‘sometimes’, so you might have company, but for that quality, it’s worth it. The swell direction is bang-on from the SW, which is what this break loves.

The Wednesday the 19th morning session is also a real treat for the connoisseur, but it’s smaller and further out in the forecast, so keep an eye on it.

The middle of the month is a write-off for a good paddle. Stay patient. That clean weekend at the end is what we’re aiming for.

Rusty.

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