The Spit Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here, and I’ve got to be straight with you – the outlook for The Spit over the next 16 days is a bit of a tough one. The swell is hanging around, but it’s small, and the conditions are rarely coming together for a proper session. There’s no standout, no real gem to chase, just a few windows where things might be passable if you’re desperate for a paddle.

For the first week, starting Sunday the 23rd of August, we’ve got a weak east-northeast swell, around 3ft to 4ft, with a short period of 7 to 8 seconds. The combined energy bounces around – it’s weak on Sunday (84) and Monday (224 is moderate but still not great). The wind is mostly cross-onshore or cross, so the surface is choppy or lumpy. There’s a brief moment on Tuesday morning the 25th of August where the wind goes glassy, and the swell is 3ft from the east-northeast. The water temperature is 68° – that’s about normal for this time of year, with a slight anomaly of -1°. It’s surfable, but it’s ordinary. The Spit is a river break, consistent, and exposed to the east, but with these tiny waves and imperfect wind, it’s not firing. The optimum swell direction is east, so we’re nearly there, but the size just isn’t there.

Through the rest of the week, Wednesday the 26th and Thursday the 27th see some clean-ish mornings with light cross-offshore winds from the northwest, but the swell is still small – 3ft to 4ft – and the energy is weak to moderate (72 to 241). The waves are there, but they’re ordinary. The wind shifts on Friday the 28th to a clean cross-off again, but it’s only 3ft from the east. You might get a few fun ones, but don’t expect much.

The second week, from the 30th of August onwards, the swell drops off even more. Sunday the 30th has a glassy morning with a 2ft swell from the southeast, period 10 seconds – that’s a bit more energy (149) but the size is tiny. By Monday the 31st, the period jumps to 17 seconds, which is a very long groundswell, but it’s only 1ft from the southeast. That long period will make it break straight at the river mouth, not ideal, and the conditions are still poor. The wind is cross-onshore or onshore, so it’s messy.

From the 1st of September through to the 7th, it’s a constant run of small, weak swell – 1ft to 2ft – with periods between 9 and 10 seconds. The energy is all below 170, mostly in the weak range. The wind is often cross-offshore in the mornings, which keeps it clean, but the waves are just too small to get excited about. The water stays around average for the season.

If you’re a beginner, the swell never gets over 5ft, so it’s always safe, but the quality is poor. For everyone else, it’s a long wait with no real standouts. The best chance is probably Tuesday morning the 25th of August when it’s glassy, or the clean mornings on the 28th and 2nd of September, but even then, it’s just ordinary surf. The Spit is consistent, so it tends not to stay poor for long, but this run is a dry spell. Forecasts can change, but right now, I wouldn’t be rushing.

Rusty.

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