The Spit Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here, let’s have a look at what’s on the cards for the Spit over the next couple of weeks.

Honestly, it’s a pretty flat and frustrating run ahead. You’re looking at a solid week and a half of mostly small, messy, or just plain unsurfable conditions. The groundswell pulses we get are weak and the wind is all over the place. There’s a gap of about 10 days where nothing really offers a proper ride.

The only real window that’s even worth paddling for is Wednesday morning, the 2nd of September. The Spit is a river mouth, exposed to the east, and it’s been a quiet week. That morning we’ve got a slight 3ft swell from the ENE, but the big thing is that wind—light and offshore from the NNW. That’ll keep the surface clean. The combined swell energy is weak, reading 144, but it’s surfable. Not a standout by any stretch, but it’s the best we’ve got. The water temperature is about average for this time of year, nothing too unusual.

Before that, the early mornings on the 26th and the 27th are clean but the swell is tiny and weak, barely a knee-high ripple. The 26th morning has a 3ft swell from the ENE with a 7-second period, so it’s a short-period, weak windswell (107 energy). The wind is offshore, so it’s glassy, but the waves are gutless. After that, the wind swings onshore and it’s choppy and poor for the rest of the week.

The weekend of the 30th and 31st picks up a bit more energy, with the swell hitting 4ft on the 30th afternoon, but the fresh SSE wind is tearing across the break, making it lumpy and ugly. The energy gets up to 145, but it’s wasted with that wind.

The 2nd of September morning is the one to target. It’s clean, and the swell is a little better defined. The Wednesday afternoon after that gets messy again.

Looking further out, the 6th and 7th of September bring a bigger pulse of swell—up to 7ft on the Monday morning (7th) with combined energy of 746, which is strong. But the wind is howling from the SE at 15 mph, cross-onshore, and it’s going to be a choppy, blown-out mess. That’s more of a kite surfer’s day than a paddle surfer’s.

The morning of the 8th of September has a clean offshore wind from the west, but the swell drops back to 2ft, and the energy is weak at 67. It’s small but clean.

So, plain and simple: if you’ve got a longboard and low expectations, the Wednesday morning on the 2nd of September is your best bet. Otherwise, it’s a waiting game.

Rusty.

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