The Spit Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, mate, Rusty here again, giving you the same story in feet and miles per hour.

It’s a pretty grim outlook for the next couple of weeks. The only spot we’ve got is The Spit, and even that’s barely a whisper. The pattern is frustrating: a long run of small, weak, and messy surf with cross-onshore winds ruining most of the quality. There’s a solid gap from the start of the forecast all the way to the morning of Friday, August 21st, before we see anything even worth paddling for.

The first real flicker of hope comes on Friday morning, August 21st. The Spit is showing a tiny 3ft swell from the east with a short period of 7 seconds—nothing to get excited about, but the wind goes glassy, which is a rare treat. The combined swell energy is a weak 173, so don’t expect any power. The water temp is around 68°, which is about normal for this time of year. It’s surfable, but only just. The crowd factor is “often,” so you might have some company for these small, ordinary waves.

Saturday the 22nd and Sunday the 23rd offer similar stories: tiny 2ft to 3ft swells from the east-northeast. The standout is Sunday morning, August 23rd, with another glassy morning session. The swell is a weak 3ft and the period is 8 seconds, with combined energy of just 83. It’s clean, but the waves are weak and small. The Spit (Gold Coast) is a river mouth, so it can handle these small, long-period swells okay, but there’s just no oomph behind them.

Monday the 24th of August morning has a clean, cross-off wind with a tiny 2ft swell, but it’s pretty much the same story. The second week is a write-off for quality surf. From the 25th of August onward, the swell stays under 3ft, and the winds turn mostly cross-onshore or fresh, making it lumpy and choppy. The combined energy stays low, mostly in the two-digit range, with a few brief blips into the low 100s. The strongest energy comes on the 30th and 31st of August, with a 14-second period swell from the southeast, but the wind is onshore, so it’s just messy.

If you’re a beginner, the small waves on the 21st, 23rd, and 24th of August mornings are your best bet for a paddle, but it’s not exactly inspiring. For everyone else, it’s a waiting game. The best of a bad bunch is the glassy Friday morning on the 21st of August—just don’t expect a barrel. The Spit is a consistent spot, so it won’t stay poor forever, but for now, the ocean is taking a long nap.

Rusty.

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