Waverly Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, grab a coffee, let’s talk surf around Waverly. It’s been a bit of a dead spell, and this outlook is a classic example of patience being a virtue. For the first ten days or so, it’s pretty grim. We’ve got small, weak swell and winds that are mostly onshore or cross-shore, leaving the ocean a messy, choppy mess. The water temp is sitting around 76°, which is about 2° above what we’d normally see this time of year – a little warm touch but nothing too wild for the first break we’ll look at.

The only real light at the end of the tunnel shows up around Sunday, August 9th into the next week. That’s when we finally get some proper groundswell moving in. The combined wave energy ramps up significantly, hitting values over 400 and even hitting 730 on the Sunday afternoon, which is a strong signal. The swell period jumps up to 12 and 13 seconds, which means long lines of energy, good shape, and those long waits between sets that make the paddle out a little easier. But, and it’s a big but, the wind is a real problem.

Let’s break the best of what we’ve got. For a breakwater setup like Waverly, this kind of long-period swell from the SSE isn’t ideal for a beachy type of wave – it can break a bit too straight and fat – but it could work if the tide lines up. The standout window is Sunday morning, August 9th. We’ve got a 4 ft SSE swell with a 12-second period, and the wind is a cross-offshore from the NNW at 9 mph – that’s clean, workable, and the only time in this whole forecast where the wind and swell almost line up for a decent session. The wave energy is strong at 435, so there’s push behind it. It’s not firing, but it’s the best bet in a long dry spell. The Sunday afternoon sees the swell jump to 5 ft and the energy hit 730, but the wind swings around to a light onshore, which will kill the quality.

The following Monday and Tuesday, August 10-11, still have that long-period groundswell running (4 ft to 4 ft, 11-12 seconds, energy in the 300s and 400s), but both days are plagued by onshore winds. Those are strictly for the die-hards who don’t mind a bumpy surface. If you're a beginner, anything over 5 ft here gets a bit spicy, and by Sunday afternoon those waves are pushing into that zone, so stay well inside.

Honestly, for the first week and a half, kites and windsurfers would have way more fun than us paddle surfers. The conditions are just blown out. Then from Thursday, August 13th, we clean up again with offshore winds, but the swell drops to tiny 2 ft with weak energy – not worth the drive unless you're desperate for a log sesh.

So, to wrap it up: the only standout worth mentioning is Sunday morning, August 9th. It’s not a classic, but it’s the only time in this 16-day window where the wind is clean and there’s enough groundswell to make it interesting. Everything else is a grind. Hope the forecast shifts, because right now it’s a tough one.

Rusty

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