The Wedge Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let's break down the next 16 days for The Wedge. This spot is a breakwater setup that's fairly exposed to swell, and it’s a place that needs a good, clean south to southwest groundswell to really fire. Right now, we're looking at a bit of a slow start, but there's a decent pulse building in the background.

The water is running at 76.1° right now, which is a whopping 9.0° warmer than usual for this time of year. That's a very unusual, much warmer than normal situation, so you can leave the thick wetsuit at home.

For the first week, from the 31st of August through to the 4th of September, it's a tough watch. Swell is small, around 1.6 ft to 2.6 ft, and the wind is mostly cross or cross-onshore, which is making for grotty, choppy conditions. The wave energy is weak to moderate, and it's being described as "poor surf conditions" across the board. Not much to get excited about.

We start to see a change on the 5th of September. The swell begins to build, hitting 4 ft from the S on Saturday afternoon with a 15-second period, and the energy jumps to a strong level. It's still a bit messy with a cross-shore wind, but it's a step in the right direction. The 6th of September (Sunday) gets a bit chunkier, with 5.6 ft to 6.6 ft S swell, but the wind is fresh and cross-shore, making it rough. The standout window is shaping up for Monday the 7th of September. The morning is looking excellent. We've got a solid 7.9 ft south swell with a 14-second period—that's a fair bit of juice. The wind is a light easterly, blowing cross-offshore, which will keep the wave faces clean. This is going to be a punchy, powerful wave, definitely one for experienced surfers as it's over 8 ft. The Wedge gets hollow and heavy on a good south swell, so this could be the best on offer. The afternoon, however, gets blown out by a strong SE wind and rain.

The energy drops off quickly after that. Tuesday the 8th sees 7.9 ft to 9.8 ft of S swell, but with strong onshore winds and short, weak periods, it's going to be a messy, lumpy mess. By the 9th of September, we're back to small, weak swells with poor conditions, and that pattern of small, onshore-affected surf looks set to continue for the rest of the second week. There's a gap of several days from the 9th through the 15th of September where the recommendations are all poor, with no real windows of quality. The energy drops to weak levels, and the wind is mostly cross or onshore.

So, to sum it up: the first week is a write-off, with a brief, promising window on Monday morning the 7th of September for the experienced crew. After that, it's back to flat and funky conditions. On a positive note, the forecasts can change, and this spot can turn on quickly with a proper south swell, but in this 16-day window, you've got to be patient and wait for that Monday morning.

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