The Spit Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Well, I’ve had a good look at the charts for The Spit, and I’ll be straight with you – it’s a bit of a tough stretch. We’ve got a solid 16-day window ahead, but the truth is, the surf is pretty ordinary for most of it. There aren’t any true standouts that’ll have you calling in sick, but there are a few windows where a patient surfer might scratch out a fun one.

Things start quiet. The first few days are a write-off with poor, bumpy conditions and choppy cross-onshore winds. The water temp is sitting at 20°, which is about 0.8° below the long-term average – pretty normal for this time of year, nothing to stress about.

Now, the first real glimmer of hope comes on Friday morning, the 21st of August. We’ve got a tiny, clean 1ft east swell sliding in, and the wind goes glassy. The combined energy is weak (149), so you won’t be getting any power, but it’ll be smooth. It’s a river mouth, so it’s consistent, but with only a 7-second period, it’s going to be a short, weak little wave. Good for a beginner or a longboarder to get a few grovelly ones.

Honestly, that Friday morning is about as good as it gets. The following days are a mix of poor conditions and very ordinary waves, with the swell dropping and the wind messing things up. Monday morning the 24th has another glassy patch with a tiny 2ft swell (69 energy), but again, it’s weak. Tuesday morning the 25th sees a slight bump in energy to 116, with a clean cross-off wind, and a 3ft swell – but it’s still a beach and river setup, and the period is short.

The next real spark isn’t until Sunday, the 30th of August, where a new SE swell tries to push in at 5ft, but it’s coming with a fresh onshore wind at 19 mph and a nasty lumpy cross-chop. That’s a kite surfer’s session, not a paddle surfer’s.

Into the first week of September, the energy picks up a little (up to 473 on the Tuesday afternoon), but the wind stays cross-onshore and choppy. The swell direction is SE, which is well off the optimum east direction for The Spit, and the periods get longer (11-12 seconds), suggesting a longer-period groundswell – but with the wrong wind and direction, it’s just messy.

So, bottom line: if you’re desperate, Friday morning the 21st is your best bet. It’s clean, it’s glassy, but don’t expect much more than a knee-high dribble. Otherwise, the 16-day outlook is a real struggle. At a consistent spot like The Spit, it tends not to stay this flat and choppy for long, so the forecasts might change. But for now, keep the board in the car and your expectations low.

Rusty.

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