The Spit Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what we’ve got on the table for The Spit over the next couple of weeks. I’ll be straight with you – it’s a grim stretch for the most part, with a whole lot of choppy, blown-out conditions and only a couple of fleeting moments that might be worth a paddle.

The main issue is that the wind is almost always a problem. We’ve got a persistent onshore or cross-shore flow from the SSE and SE for the first week and a half, which is just hammering the surface. The swell is on the small side, mostly hanging around 1ft to 6ft, but it’s paired with a short period and messy energy. The water temp is sitting at 69°, which is about 0.9° below the norm for this time of year, so nothing weird there – just your standard late-winter feel.

The first real chance to get wet without hating life comes on the morning of Thursday the 22nd of August. It’s still marginal, but the wind drops to just 5 km/h (3 mph) from the SE, which is a light cross-onshore that barely ruffles the water. The swell is 5ft from the E at 9 seconds. The combined energy is at 392 (moderate), so there’s a bit of push behind it. It’s not going to be epic, but it’s the best we’ll see for a while. Given the winds have been so crap, this is a standout window.

Then, the real standout for the whole forecast period is the morning of Monday the 24th of August. The wind goes completely glassy – SSW at 5 km/h (3 mph) – and the sky is clear. The swell is 3ft from the E with a 9-second period, and the combined energy is 161 (moderate). This is the cleanest the face is going to look over the entire 16 days. For a river break like The Spit, that glassy morning is gold. It’s a beginner-friendly spot, so if you’re just starting out or want a longboard cruise, this is your moment. The early session will be the pick of the whole outlook.

The swell does get a bit bigger on the 18th of August, hitting 8ft from the ESE, but the wind is a moderate cross-onshore at 25 km/h (16 mph), and the combined energy is 938 (strong). That kind of size with that wind at a river mouth is going to be a messy, lumpy nightmare. For the experienced crew, it might have some push, but it’s not a paddle-friendly setup. The Spit is a beginner spot, and that size with onshore wind is just too much for beginners.

There’s a long gap of really poor conditions from the 13th through to the 21st of August, with every session scoring a zero. After that, the 22nd and 24th give us those two brief windows of opportunity. Then the 25th and 26th drop back into the wind and chop again. The very last morning, Friday the 28th of August, has a weird little pulse: a 1ft, 14-second groundswell from the SE. The period is very long for that size, and the wind is glassy calm. The combined energy is only 131 (weak), so it’s tiny, but if you’re a fan of that long-period, clean, small wave, that could be a weirdly fun session. Long-period swells can break straight at beach or river breaks, but The Spit is a river, so it might handle it okay.

Bottom line: the 24th of August morning is the one to circle. Glassy, clean, decent sized for the spot. The 22nd is a backup. Everything else is a write-off for a paddle surfer. This setup is more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing on most of those windy days, especially when the swell is up and the wind is fresh.

Stay patient, and don’t waste your energy on the junk days.

Rusty.

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