Thousand Steps Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, mate, Rusty here. Let's have a look at what's on the table for the coming weeks.

Right now, the outlook is a bit lackluster, to be honest. We're looking at a long stretch of small, marginal conditions. The first real swell worth paddling out for is a long way off, so there's a big gap of nothing special to get excited about.

The main event here is Thousand Steps, a reef setup that's very consistent. It's exposed to the swell, with the best direction coming from the SW. The water temperature is about average for this time of year, nothing unusual.

The first few days are a write-off. Wednesday the 19th through to the weekend of the 23rd-24th August is all poor surf and marginal conditions with tiny waves. The swell is weak, with combined energy values in the low 100s to 200s (188-327), barely enough to push you around. The winds are mostly cross-onshore or light onshore, so the surface will be a bit messy. Forget it.

We then hit a period into the following week, from the 25th to the 27th, that's still no good. The energy picks up slightly on the 25th morning (486) with a 2ft SW swell and a light offshore wind, but it's still flagged as marginal. The rest of that week is back to poor surf.

The first real sign of life appears on Friday, August 28th. The morning shows a 2ft SSW swell with a very long period of 19 seconds and light offshore winds from the SW. The combined energy jumps to 376 (moderate). This is a groundswell, and at a reef break, that long period will mean some nicely shaped, powerful lines, but the gaps between sets will be longer. The afternoon gets choppy with cross-onshore winds.

Saturday, August 29th is the standout of the whole forecast. The morning bumps up to 3ft SSW swell, period 17 seconds, with light cross-onshore winds. The real kicker is the afternoon: 3ft SSW swell, with the combined energy hitting 540 (strong). The winds are light cross-onshore, so it'll be a bit bumpy on the face, but the energy is there. This is the best session on offer, but it's coming up nearly two weeks out, so treat it as promising but not locked in.

After that, we slide back into mediocrity. Sunday the 30th and Monday the 31st are marginal again, with the Monday afternoon showing a 5ft W swell, but with a short period of 8 seconds and moderate cross-onshore winds, making for a jumbled, weak wave. The first week of September goes flat again, with tiny swells and poor conditions.

So overall, the only real window to get a decent wave is from Friday morning, August 28th, through to Saturday afternoon, August 29th. If you can wait, that's your best bet. Otherwise, it's a long wait for a small reward.

Rusty.

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