The South Jetty Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, I’m Rusty, and I’ve been staring at the charts for your local patch. Let’s be straight with each other – the next 16 days are looking pretty grim for a proper surf. The whole stretch is a tough slog, with barely a wave worth paddling for. There’s a long gap of nothing good from the start, and honestly, the only spot that ever gets a mention is The South Jetty.

Right off the bat, the outlook is bleak. From Thursday 27 August through to the end of the month, there’s nothing but tiny, gutless swell with poor, choppy conditions. The wind is mostly cross-onshore and the swell height barely scrapes 2 ft, with weak energy (56). It’s a write-off.

The first real glimmer, and it’s a weak one, comes on Friday 28 August. The South Jetty sees a little 2 ft swell from the ESE, period 8 seconds, and the wind goes glassy in the morning. The combined energy is still low (65), but that glassy calm means the surface is clean. It’s surfable, but very ordinary. The afternoon turns cross-shore and messy again.

After that, it’s back to a long stretch of nothing. Saturday 29 August through to Monday 31 August offer tiny swells (1 ft to 2 ft) with cross-on or cross-off winds, all scoring poorly. The energy is weak, barely hitting 32. The whole period is a dud.

We hit a real low point on Tuesday 1 September – the swell drops to just 0.3 ft, though the period is a very long 15 seconds. The wind is light and cross-off, so it’s clean, but there’s no wave to ride. Combine that with weak energy (19), and it’s a skunk session.

Wednesday 2 September shows a slight bump – the swell lifts to 3 ft from the E, period 6 seconds, and the energy creeps into moderate territory (106). But the wind is cross-onshore, making it choppy and poor. The afternoon sees a 2 ft SE swell with a longer 11-second period and a light cross-shore, but it’s still rated poor.

The biggest swell of the entire run appears on Thursday 3 September, with 5 ft from the ENE, period 8 seconds, and moderate energy (347). But the wind is a strong cross-onshore, creating choppy, lumpy conditions. For a beach/jetty break like The South Jetty, that’s tough – it’s not offering the clean, lined-up waves you’d want. This is more of a kite-surfing setup than paddle surfing.

Friday 4 September keeps the swell around 4 ft from the E, period 8 to 9 seconds, with moderate energy (240 to 268). The wind is fresh cross-shore, so it’s lumpy and messy. Still poor.

From Saturday 5 September onward, the swell steadily drops back to 2 ft to 2 ft with weak energy, and the wind remains cross-on or cross-shore, keeping conditions poor. The entire second week – from 5 September to 11 September – offers nothing but tiny, choppy, or glassy-but-flat surf. The highlight is a glassy morning on Thursday 10 September with 1 ft SE swell, but there’s just no power.

The water temperature is about average for the time of year, nothing unusual.

Honestly, there’s no standout here. The best bet would be Friday 28 August morning for a clean, tiny wave, but don’t expect much. The rest of the 16 days is a blank run. This area isn’t known for this kind of flat spell, but sometimes it just happens. Forecasts can change, so keep an eye out, but for now, leave the board at home.

Rusty.

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