Tip Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, tip-top crew, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what the next couple of weeks are serving up for us. It’s a bit of a slow burn, but there’s a glimmer of something on the horizon if you’re patient.

Overall Pattern

Right off the bat, we’ve got a bit of swell on the way in, but the wind isn't going to do us any favors. It’s gonna be a bit of a wrestle for the first few days. Then we go into a proper flat spell – think a solid week of nothing but ankle-biters and blown-out dribble. The real story, the one that's gonna get the heart pumping, is that final push of solid west swell that shows up in the last few days of the window. That’s the one to circle on the calendar.

The Early Days (Aug 13 – Aug 15)

We start Thursday morning with some waist-high lines, around 6ft, coming from the southwest. There’s a bit of push behind it, but the cross-off wind from the WSW is going to keep it a bit bumpy. It’s surfable, but not what you’d call pretty. It gets a bit smaller as we head into Friday, dropping to about 4ft, and the energy backs off too. By Saturday, the swell really fades out to almost nothing – just 1ft of long-period energy that’s all show and no go. That's when I'd be thinking about finding something else to do.

The Quiet Spell (Aug 16 – Aug 25)

This is the gap. From Sunday the 16th right through to the 25th, it's a real desert. There are a few pulses of weak, short-period swell, but nothing that breaks the 3ft mark in any meaningful way. The wind is mostly onshore or cross, keeping things choppy. There are a couple of mornings, like the 20th and the 22nd, where it cleans up and gets glassy, but the surf is just too weak. We're talking knee-high dribble. If you’re a kiter, the wind is more consistent than the waves, but for us paddle surfers, this is a time for fishing or fixing your dings. The start of the second week is a total write-off; I wouldn't even bother checking the cam.

The Late Push (Aug 26 – Aug 28)

Now we’re talking. The entire first part of the window is looking like a sacrifice to the surf gods to get to this. Wednesday the 26th starts with a bit of life, but it’s the morning of the 27th that has my attention. We’ve got a solid 12ft of southwest groundswell with a hefty 11-second period, and the energy readings are through the roof. This is a big one. The winds are forecast to be cross-off and the surf will be glassy, but here’s the catch – 12ft is a lot of water. It’s going to be a heavy, powerful day, strictly for the experienced crew. Guys, this is a big-wave day. The swell direction is SW, which is just off the optimum for Tip Beach. It's also a beach break, and with that long period, it might close out a bit. Still, it's the standout of the entire forecast. We’ll see it ease off into Thursday the 28th, with cleaner conditions and waves still in the 4ft to 5ft range. That’s going to be the more manageable day for most.

The water temp is about average for this time of year, no need to dig out the 5/4 just yet.

Alright, that’s the long and short of it. Keep your eyes on that Thursday the 27th and 28th. It might be a while away, so keep an eye on the charts, but it looks promising.

Catch you in the water.

Rusty

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