Tora Point Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Righto, Rusty here. Been staring at the charts for Tora Point and it's a bit of a mixed bag for the next couple of weeks, but there are some serious highlights if you're willing to wait.

The pattern starts off slow and a bit frustrating. Wednesday the 26th is a write-off – there’s some swell around 3ft to 4ft from the SSW, with moderate cross-off winds, but the quality is just not there, and a couple of the windows are totally flat. The swell energy is weak, in the 400 to 600 range, and it feels like we're just waiting for something to happen.

We get a solid lift on Thursday the 27th, with the swell jumping to over 7ft from the SSW. The period is a solid 16-17 seconds, giving some real push – this is proper groundswell with moderate energy (around 2500-2600). The wind is cross-off, so it’s clean, though the conditions are still described as marginal. The crowd situation at Tora Point is rare, which is always a bonus.

Friday the 28th is a slight step down in size back to the 4ft to 5ft range, but the wind goes offshore on the Friday afternoon. It’s a bit windier with a fresh breeze, but the swell direction shifts a touch more southerly. It’s not a stand-out, but it’s a window to get wet with clean lines. The swell energy is still moderate-low (500-600). The weekend is small – Saturday the 29th has some tiny 2ft to 3ft waves with offshore wind in the morning making it glassy, but it’s just too weak to get excited about. Sunday the 30th is back to poor conditions with a choppy onshore wind.

Then we get a massive spike. Monday the 31st of August has a huge SSW swell hitting – we’re looking at 12ft sets with a 12-second period. This is a high-energy event, with the combined energy clocking in at 3619 (moderate-strong). The wind is favourable, but let’s be real: at this size, Tora Point is primarily for experts. The afternoon looks much better, with the swell dropping to 8ft and glassy offshore conditions – that is the window for experienced surfers. The Tuesday the 1st of September is actually too big for Tora Point with a 20ft swell and 25,008 combined energy – that’s just monstrous and dangerous. The afternoon glass-off with an 12ft swell will be a serious session for those who know what they’re doing and can handle a heavy point break.

After that peak, things settle down. Wednesday the 2nd of September has a 5ft leftover SSE swell with clean cross-off wind and moderate energy (561). It’s a good, manageable day. The rest of that week and into the second week is a slow decline. From Thursday the 3rd through to Sunday the 7th, we see smaller waves in the 1ft to 5ft range. The best of this quieter period is maybe Monday the 7th of September, with 5ft SSW swell and 603 energy – it’s a head-high option with light cross-off winds. For the rest of the second week, expect tiny surf, waist-high or smaller, with periods of clean but very ordinary conditions. The combined swell energy drops well below 300 by the 8th and 9th of September, so we're talking about a genuine lull. The Thursday the 10th of September has a small 2ft SSW groundswell with offshore wind, but it’s just not going to be a standout.

So, the real standout is the Thursday the 27th of August, with that 7ft to 8ft clean groundswell, and the Monday afternoon the 31st of August and Tuesday afternoon the 1st of September for the experts looking for a solid, serious swell with glassy conditions. For the average surfer, the Wednesday the 2nd of September is the most approachable clean day after the big swell has dropped.

Keep an eye on the winds, and if you’re a beginner, give the big days a wide berth. The water temp is about normal for this time of year, nothing wild.

Rusty.

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