The Wharf Lefts Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s cookin’ for our local stretch.

Honestly, it’s a tough run ahead. We’ve got a long gap of flat or nearly flat days with no real recommendations at all from Monday the 17th of August all the way through. The first sniff of anything worth paddling out for doesn’t really show up until Thursday the 20th, and even then it’s just small.

The pattern is dominated by persistent cross-off winds from the ENE and east, and while that’s usually fine for keeping the face clean, the swell just isn’t cooperating. Swell direction is mostly out of the S and SSW, which is okay for The Wharf Lefts, a reef setup that likes that S direction – it’s the optimum direction for the spot. But the size is tiny, mostly around 1ft to 3ft, and the period varies from short 9-second stuff up to a few longer 18-second groundswell pulses. That longer period (over 15 seconds) will bring more energy and shape, but at these sizes it’s more of a promise than a payoff.

The only real standout window is the afternoon of Thursday the 20th through to Friday the 21st of August. On Thursday afternoon we’ve got clean 2ft SW swell with a long 17-second period, light ENE breeze at 9 mph, and the combined swell energy hits a moderate 200 (moderate). Friday morning looks even better: 2ft SW swell, still a long 17-second period, and the wind drops to a glassy light 6 mph from the east. The energy bumps up to 232. That’s about as good as it gets in this stretch – small, clean, and lined up for a reef that handles that direction well. Expect good surf conditions. The water temp is 80° with a tiny anomaly of +0.2°, so pretty average for this time of year.

After that, the weekend turns sour. Saturday and Sunday see the wind picking up to 15–19 mph, and while the swell holds around 2ft, the conditions go downhill fast. By Monday the 24th, we’re looking at strong breezes up to 25 mph, and the wave comment is just poor. There’s a gap of several days with nothing worth chasing.

A bit further out, around Wednesday the 26th of August, there’s a spike in energy – 372 (moderate) – with a long 19-second SSW swell at 2ft, but the wind is howling at 15 mph cross-off. It’s messy. For a reef break, that long period could make the wave a bit too straight for a beach setup, but here at a reef it might hold shape. Still, the wind kills it.

Overall, the best bet is Thursday afternoon and Friday morning (20th–21st). It’s small, but it’s clean, and the reef will give you something to work with. For the rest, you’re better off waiting for the next system.

Rusty.

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