The Wharf Lefts Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, I’m Rusty. Right, let’s be straight with you—there’s no standout swell window here to get properly excited about. The Wharf Lefts is the only game in town, and for the next 16 days it’s mostly a story of small, clean but weak surf, with a lot of poor conditions and fresh breezes chewing into the second week. If you’re desperate for a paddle, the best of a very average bunch comes mid-period Thursday 20 August through to Saturday 22 August—small and tidy but nothing to write home about.

We kick off Sunday 16 August with a risk of thunderstorms and a cross-off breeze from the E at 15 mph whipping the surface. Swell’s a modest 4 ft from the S with a short period of 8 seconds—just 265 combined energy—so don’t expect much push. The water temp feels about average for the time of year. It’s not the best first impression.

Monday 17 August stays clean with that same ENE cross-off wind around 15 mph, but the swell drops to 3 ft from the S. Now here’s the kicker—the period stretches out to 14 seconds. That’s long-period groundswell, so the wave shape has some potential, but at this tiny size, it’s going to want a reef or point to really line up. The Wharf Lefts is a reef, so that helps, but with only 283–326 units of energy, it’s barely winking. You’ll be scratching for waves.

Tuesday 18 August sees the swell shrink further to 2 ft from the S, period back to 13 seconds. Energy sits around 211–219—weak. Morning is clean with a gentle ENE cross-off, but lookout for that wind picking up to 12 mph in the afternoon. Marginal. You could get the odd fun one if you’re patient and the tide plays ball.

Wednesday 19 August is poor across the board—tiny 1–2 ft waves with a period that bounces from 16 down to 12 seconds. The swell direction tries SW, but with only 117–168 energy, it’s a push.

Now, here’s the narrow window that’s the pick of the whole 16 days: Thursday 20 August through to Saturday 22 August. We’ve got consistent 2 ft swell from the SW—periods holding 16–18 seconds, which is very long period groundswell. Energy climbs a bit, sitting between 206 and 269 units. The wind is a light to gentle ENE cross-off all morning, and on Saturday morning it even drops to a light breeze at 6 mph. That’s about as glassy as it’s going to get. The reef should help those long-period lines stand up. The crowd level is listed as “sometimes,” so take it with a pinch of salt—there could be a few others with the same idea.

Saturday afternoon 22 August the wind picks back up to 15 mph, and from Sunday 23 August onwards it’s pretty grim. Fresh breezes from the ENE blowing 18 mph, swell tiny—1 ft to 3 ft—and every session gets a “poor” or “marginal” tag. The energy figures bounce around weirdly—some days hit 400+ for a blip on 30 August—but the wave height never gets above 3 ft and the wind is relentless. On Sunday 30 August there’s a spike to 447 energy with a 2 ft SW swell at 17 seconds, but that fresh breeze at 18 mph will rip the surface to shreds. Not worth suiting up for.

So there you have it—no proper swell on the horizon. The window from Thursday 20 to Saturday 22 August is your best shot: glassy mornings, clean little long-period lines, tiny but rideable if you’re on the right board. Otherwise, it’s a two-week wait for little reward. Forecasts change—keep an eye on it. Rusty.

Read more