Watergate Bay Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s talk about Watergate Bay.

Right off the bat, I’ve gotta be straight with you – this 16-day window is a tough one. We’re looking at a long stretch of mostly poor conditions, with a few brief windows where it might just be rideable. The first real chance of anything surfable doesn’t show up until Monday morning, August 3rd.

For Monday morning, the 3rd, we’ve got a tiny bit of hope. The swell is a tiny 2ft from the WSW, but the real story is the wind. It’s glassy, which is a rare treat. The wave energy is low (77), so it’s not going to be anything special, but it’ll be clean. Later that afternoon, the wind turns cross-on and it’s back to poor surf.

The next few days are a write-off. Tuesday the 4th gets a bit of size with a 4ft SW swell, but it’s getting destroyed by a strong cross-shore wind. Wednesday the 5th sees a jump in energy with a 7ft swell from the WNW (533 combined energy), but it’s a fresh cross-onshore wind, making it a lumpy, messy mess. For beginners, that 7ft is already pushing it, and with the wind, it’s not for anyone.

We hit a proper dead zone from Thursday the 6th all the way through to Tuesday the 11th. The swell is tiny or non-existent, and the wind is never friendly. There’s a nine-day stretch there where I wouldn’t bother paddling out.

Things perk up a tiny bit on Wednesday morning, August 12th. The wind goes offshore from the ESE, and we get a clean 3ft swell from the west. The energy is moderate (117), so it’s surfable, but it’s still very ordinary. It’s the same story on Thursday morning, the 13th, with a light cross-offshore wind and a 3ft west swell (104 energy).

The best of a bad bunch looks like it’ll be the mornings of August 14th and 15th. On Friday the 14th, we get a 5ft WNW swell with a clean cross-offshore wind from the east (201 energy). Saturday the 15th is similar, with a 6ft WNW swell and the same clean wind (257 energy). That’s about as good as it gets in this window. The swell is a bit short period (6-7 seconds), so it won’t have much punch, but it’s the cleanest we’ll see. The water temperature is sitting at 65°F, which is a touch warmer than normal for this time of year.

So, the standout? Honestly, it’s a toss-up between the mornings of the 14th and the 15th at Watergate Bay. The swell is just over four and a half feet, so it’s not beginner territory, but for the rest of us, it’s the only window with some size and clean conditions. Don’t get too excited, but it’s something.

Rusty.

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