Vagabundo Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Look, I’m not gonna sugarcoat it – this stretch is a tough one for the paddle crew at Vagabundo. Over the next 16 days, the forecast is pretty much a write-off for decent surf. The wind is locked in from the north through northeast at 9 to 19 mph, blowing cross-on or onshore almost every session, and the swell is a short-period, wind-blown mess. The wave energy is moderate, sitting around 151 to 432, but it’s all poor-quality junk.

Saturday the 15th starts us off with 6 ft of messy NNE swell at a short 7 seconds, and a moderate breeze making it choppy. Honestly, that’s more of a kiteboarding scene than a surf. Sunday the 16th drops to 4 ft, same short period, still cross-on and choppy. Monday the 17th sees the wind swing onshore from the north, with 4–4 ft, but the wave state is unknown and the conditions are just not there.

From Tuesday the 18th through to the 28th of August, it’s a long, grim run. Swell hovers between 3 ft and 6 ft, period never gets above 9 seconds, and the wind just won’t let up. The swell direction is mostly NNE or N, which is directly opposing the optimum NNW direction for Vagabundo, so even the shape is working against us. Late in the run, on Thursday the 27th and Friday the 28th, we see swell nudge up to 6 ft with combined energy hitting 385 to 432 (moderate energy), but it’s still short-period wind swell with onshore or cross-onshore winds. That’s still poor, choppy, and messy – no silver lining.

There are no standout days here, folks. If you’re a beginner, the 5 ft and above days from the 26th onward might be too much, but honestly, the conditions are so poor it doesn’t matter. The only bright spot is that Vagabundo is consistent, so the waves will be there – just not worth paddling out for. This is one of those spells where you save the wax for another time.

Rusty.

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