Thompsons Bay Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here, let’s take a look at what Thompsons Bay has in store.

To be straight with you, the next 16 days are looking like a tough stretch. There’s no real standout session, and the surf quality is consistently poor right through. We’ve got a bit of swell at times, but the wind just won’t play ball, and it’s almost always cross or cross-onshore, making for lumpy, chopped-out conditions. For the first week, from Thursday the 20th of August right through to the following Thursday the 27th, it’s mostly a write-off. The water temperature is sitting at 71°, which is pretty much normal for this time of year, nothing weird there.

The first sniff of anything rideable comes Friday morning the 21st. It’s a marginal call with a 5ft SSW groundswell, period at 14 seconds, and combined energy of 754 (moderate). The wind is a gentle cross-shore from the ENE at 9 mph, so there’s a bit of cross-chop, but it’s not as awful as the days before or after. This is seriously a “if you’re desperate” window. Saturday the 22nd morning is even smaller, 3ft, and while it’s glassy, there’s just no power.

The biggest pulse comes on the 22nd of August Saturday afternoon, with a 5ft SSW groundswell at 15 seconds, but it’s paired with a near gale cross-shore wind at 31 mph from the SSW. Combined energy spikes to 1026 (moderate-strong), but with that wind, it’ll be a washing machine. Unless you’re into a battle, give it a miss.

Sunday the 23rd morning has 6ft of S swell, period 9 seconds, combined energy 699 (moderate), but again, cross-onshore wind from the SSW at 12 mph. It’s not clean.

From Monday the 24th onward, it’s a repeating pattern of modest cross-shore swell being ruined by tricky winds. The 1st of September Tuesday afternoon sees a big jump in combined energy to 1620 (strong) with a 8ft E swell, but cross-onshore winds from the SSW at 22 mph will have it blown out and lumpy. That’s expert-only, and even then, not pleasant.

For beginners, any swell over 5ft here is already tricky, and with the wind on it, it’s not a learner-friendly zone during this period. Honestly, if you’re into kitesurfing, some of those afternoons with decent cross-shore wind and lumpy swell might be more fun than paddling out. For pure surfing, the pick of a very bad bunch is Friday morning the 21st of August. It’s the only time the conditions are even close to marginal, with a clean-ish cross-shore wind and a decent 14-second groundswell. Just don’t expect much.

Rusty.

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