Watermans Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, it’s Rusty here. We’ve got a solid stretch of groundswell lining up for Watermans over the next couple of weeks, but it’s not all clean sailing—there are some proper windows if you pick your moments. Water’s sitting at 64°, which is a touch colder than usual for this time of year, so you might want the hood or at least a nice thick wettie.

The first standout hits on Thursday morning, the 20th of August. We’ve got 10ft of WSW groundswell at 16 seconds, and a light SE breeze has the place glassy. That’s about as good as it gets around here—solid, powerful lines with hardly a ripple on them. Moderate energy too, with the combined swell energy reading 4242. This one’s for the crew who know what they’re doing—at this size, beginners should stay on the sand.

Friday morning, the 21st, is another cracker: 8ft WSW at 15 seconds, light offshore E wind, clean as a whistle. It’s a bit down in size from Thursday but still meaty, and the offshore wind will have the faces looking like a mirror. Energy’s still pushing 2535, which is a decent punch for the wave count.

The weekend gets messier. Saturday morning has some size—7ft at 17 seconds—and a light cross-offshore N wind keeps it tidy, so that’s worth a paddle if you’ve got the patience. But by Saturday afternoon the wind swings SSW at 25 km/h and it chops up quick. Sunday’s a write-off for quality—cross-shore winds and dropping swell make it a scrappy affair.

Monday the 24th brings back some hope: 7ft WSW at 14 seconds, with a light E offshore in the morning. Clean, still decent energy (1538), and a much easier paddle than Thursday. Good all-rounder for the experienced punter.

Then we hit a lull. Tuesday the 25th drops to 4ft and the energy fades to double figures (474). Wednesday the 26th is the big one—but it’s a mess. Swell jumps back up to 10–12ft with energy readings of 5768 and 6284, but the wind is cross-onshore and choppy as all hell. That’s a lot of water moving with no shape on it. If you’re not a masochist, give it a miss. Honestly, the setup around then looks more interesting for the kite crew than the paddle crew.

Thursday the 27th still has some size (8ft, 16s) but the S wind at 25 km/h makes it lumpy. By the weekend, the swell backs right off—Friday the 28th is just 4ft at 13 seconds, and Saturday the 29th drops to 2ft but with a 22-second period. That’s some long-interval swell, but there’s just not enough push to make Watermans work. Leave it be.

The second week kicks off with a resurgent WSW groundswell on Sunday the 30th—7–8ft at 18 seconds. Winds are light but onshore/cross-onshore, so it’ll be bumpy, though the energy’s substantial (3237–3465). Monday the 31st morning looks cleaner: 7ft at 17 seconds with a light NNE cross-offshore wind, and that’s your pick of the second week. Still solid size, clean lines, and the energy’s at 2507. Tuesday the 1st of September holds similar size but the wind gets questionable.

Wednesday the 2nd morning is another clean window—7ft at 13 seconds with a light E offshore, making for some nice, rippable walls. Thursday the 3rd sees the swell spike back up to 10ft at 16 seconds, but the wind is cross-shore and light, so it could be a bit lumpy—though for the chargers among you, that might be the one to watch.

To sum it up: Thursday the 20th and Friday the 21st are your two true standouts—big, clean, and powerful. Monday the 31st is the long-range promise, but don’t book the week around it just yet. Everything else is either too small, too messy, or just plain average for this spot.

Stay salty,
Rusty

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