Udo Shrine Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, let’s get into it.

The next couple of weeks are a bit of a mixed bag for Udo Shrine. There is some swell early on, but it’s small and lumpy. The real meat of this forecast is the solid groundswell that shows up in the second week, and it looks like Thursday the 27th is the standout day.

First up, the early part of the week is pretty flat and uninviting. Tuesday the 18th through Sunday the 23rd is a write-off, honestly. We’ve got small, weak swell in the 2ft to 4ft range, with mostly onshore or cross-onshore winds messing things up. The water temp is sitting at 83°, which is bang normal for this time of year, but you aren’t going to be comfortable. It’s going to be a frustrating stretch, and you might be better off doing something else for a few days. The energy is weak, with combined swell energy values of 160 and below for a lot of that time.

We start to see a shift on Monday the 24th. The swell starts to fill in from the ESE, and the period jumps to 14-16 seconds. The energy numbers start climbing, hitting 492 in the morning and nearly double that, to 993, by the afternoon. This is the groundswell arriving. Still not clean, but you can feel the ocean waking up. The surf is getting bigger, up to 4ft by Monday afternoon.

Then Tuesday the 25th brings a big jump in size, but also a lot of wind. We’re looking at 8ft to 10ft of ESE/SE groundswell, but with a moderate onshore/cross-onshore breeze making it choppy. The energy is strong, hitting 4227 by the afternoon. This is a lot of water moving, but it’s going to be a mess. This is more of a kite-surfing day than a clean surf day.

Wednesday the 26th is still big, up to 13ft, and the energy is up to 8172. But the wind is still on it, so the quality isn't there. This is where the patience pays off.

Thursday, August 27th is the one. The morning is an absolute gem. The wind drops right out, goes glassy, and we’ve got a clean 15ft of SE groundswell with a 16-second period. The combined energy is at a hefty 10349, which is strong to very strong. This is a serious, powerful groundswell. The direction is from the SE, and Udo Shrine’s optimum is from the S, so it’s a little angled, but the period is so long and the conditions are so clean, it’s going to be a proper session for experts only. This size is well beyond a beginner's comfort zone. The afternoon eases a touch to 15ft, with a slight cross-onshore coming up, knocking the score down a notch, but it's still going to be good. This is the highlight of the whole run.

Friday the 28th holds solid, with 13ft of SE/ESE swell, but the wind goes offshore and it’s glassy again. The period drops a bit to 14 seconds, but it’s still a proper groundswell. Energy is still very strong at 6756 in the morning. This is a great back-up day.

The weekend after that, the 29th and 30th, the swell comes down a bit, but it's still fun. Saturday the 29th has 8ft of SE swell and clean morning conditions with light winds. It will be good, but not as big as the days before. Sunday the 30th sees a pulse of energy returning, with 11ft to 13ft on the cards, but the winds turn onshore and it gets messy again.

Looking further out to the first days of September, the surf stays solid in the 8ft to 10ft range, but the wind is mostly cross-onshore again. It’s going to be a bit of a grind.

So, the long and short of it is: it gets real on Thursday, August 27th. That Thursday morning is the best combination of size, period, and wind we get in this whole window. If you’re an expert, that’s your window. The Friday is also excellent. Everything else is either small and weak, or big and blown out.

Rusty.

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