The South Jetty Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, I’m Rusty. Let’s have a look at what’s on the cards for The South Jetty over the next couple of weeks.

Right off the bat, I’ve gotta be straight with you – the next ten days or so are looking pretty tough. The swell is mostly small, coming in under 3 feet, and the wind’s often in the wrong direction or too strong. There’s no real standout session in the first week, and the wave energy is weak, sitting between 12 and 77 (weak energy). The water temperature is 78°, which is much warmer than normal for this time of year – a solid 4° above average, so you’ll be glad of a thin wettie or just boardies.

The first real glimmer of anything worth paddling out for comes on Wednesday morning, 26 August. The South Jetty (beach/jetty) will see a tiny 2 ft swell from the ESE with a short period of 6 seconds, and the wind will be glassy – just a light breeze from the NE. That’s clean, no wind ripples, but the waves are small and the energy is still weak (72). It’s surfable, but ordinary. Crowds are likely here, so expect a few locals out.

From there, it’s a long stretch of poor surf right through to the end of August and into early September. The wind stays cross or cross-onshore, and the swell rarely gets above 3 ft. There are a few afternoons with a clean look, like Monday 24 August afternoon with a WNW offshore breeze and 1 ft SE swell, but that’s knee-high with weak energy (28). Not worth rushing for.

Things start to change around Thursday 3 September. The afternoon brings a 5 ft E swell with a short period of 6 seconds, and the wave energy ramps up to moderate (146). The wind is cross-onshore though, so expect choppy conditions. By Friday 4 September, the swell kicks up to 7 ft from the E, with a period of 8 seconds and strong wave energy (572 in the morning, 640 in the afternoon). That’s a solid pulse, but the wind is still cross-onshore, and the surf quality is poor. It’s marginal at best, with choppy, lumpy conditions. That size is getting into expert territory, and with the short period, it’ll be a powerful, messy wave – more likely to be interesting for kite surfers than paddle surfers.

The best bet in the whole 16-day window? I’d have to say that Wednesday morning 26 August, with the glassy conditions, is the pick of a very average bunch. The swell is tiny, but the cleanliness will give you the best chance of a fun little wave. For everything else, wait and see if the forecasts improve – it’s a long blank run, so don’t hold your breath.

Rusty.

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