The Spit Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Look, I’ll be straight with you – this 16-day run for The Spit is a tough one to call. There’s surf on offer almost every day, but the quality is the real issue. It’s a long stretch of small, often messy waves, and the wind is a constant battle. We’ve got a few brief windows of clean conditions, but they’re short-lived. The waters are sitting at 68° – about average for this time of year, so no surprises there.

Let’s start with the best of what’s on offer. Wednesday morning, the 5th of August, is actually your best bet. The swell is a tiny 3 ft from the east, with a period of 10 seconds – that’s a bit of groundswell energy, which is nice for a river mouth like this. The wind is light and from the northwest, making it a cross-offshore breeze, so the surface will be clean. The combined wave energy is moderate (131). It’s not going to be big or powerful, but for a beginner-friendly spot, it’s a rare moment of decent shape.

Thursday morning, the 6th, is another small window. The swell drops to 2 ft from the east, but the wind swings south and goes glassy – flat calm. That’s about as good as it gets for a tiny wave, but it’ll be clean and fun on a longboard. The energy is weak (68).

After that, the wind turns sour. Friday the 7th starts glassy again in the morning with 2 ft swell, but the period is a short 7 seconds, so it’ll be weak and a bit crumbly. By the afternoon, it’s onshore and messy.

The weekend of the 9th and 10th sees a slight bump in swell, hitting 4 ft from the east, with a period of 9 seconds. The energy is moderate (213). Monday morning the 10th has a solid offshore breeze from the west-northwest, which will clean things up, but the swell is just 4 ft and the period is still short. It’s a marginal call.

From the 14th of August onward, the swell picks up but the wind completely wrecks it. We’re looking at 5 ft to 5 ft swell from the southeast, with periods around 10 seconds. The energy is strong (458 to 516), but it’s all cross-onshore and choppy. The Spit is a river-mouth break, and with that much wind and that direction, it’s going to be a washing machine. If you’re a kite surfer, this setup might look interesting, but for paddle surfing, it’s a hard pass.

The final week from the 15th to the 19th is a real grind. The swell stays between 4 ft and 6 ft, but it’s consistently cross-onshore or onshore, with wind speeds ramping up to 19 mph. The wave energy is high (up to 561), but the conditions are just poor. The period drops to 8 seconds on the 17th and 18th, making it short-period wind swell. There’s a brief moment on the 19th where the swell hits 6 ft and the period is 10 seconds, but the wind is still cross-onshore, so it’s a marginal call at best.

Honestly, the standout is that Wednesday morning, the 5th. It’s the only time where the wind, swell direction, and energy all align for a clean, surfable wave. The rest of the period is a waiting game – small windows of glassy mornings, but the swell is too small to really get excited about. If you’re desperate, get out on the 5th or the 6th morning, and then keep an eye on the long-range forecast around the 19th, but that’s a long shot and not reliable this far out.

Rusty.

Read more