West Dale Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Right, grab a coffee and settle in, ‘cause the next couple of weeks around West Dale are looking grim, truly grim. To be honest, if you haven’t got a kiteboard, you might want to find something else to do. This isn’t a surf forecast; it’s a weather report with a bit of chop attached.

Let’s run through it. The whole 16-day window is a write-off for paddle surfing. There are no good waves. None. Not even a fun little one. Every single entry in the log calls it "poor surf conditions," and I’m not about to argue with the ocean. The first real sign of life is still over a week away, and even that’s a mess.

We kick off this Saturday, August 8th, with tiny, weak swell – we’re talking 0.7 ft with an energy reading sitting around a measly 15. The water temp is 63°, which is about normal for this time of year. The wind is a cross-offshore, which would be nice if there was any wave to clean up. There isn’t.

The whole first week is a flat spell. Small dribbles of 0.7 ft to 1 ft swell, mostly with short periods under 8 seconds and pathetic combined energy levels barely cracking double digits. The wind switches around from cross-off to onshore, but it doesn’t matter—you can’t shape a wave that isn’t there. From the 8th right through to the 22nd of August, there is *nothing* worth paddling out for.

Now, come Saturday the 22nd and Sunday the 23rd, we finally see a bump in size. The swell jumps to 5 ft–6 ft. The combined energy spikes to 324 and then 384, which tells you there’s power there. But here’s the kicker: the wind is a strong cross-onshore breeze, blowing 25–28 mph. The period is a weak 8 seconds or less, so it’s going to be a messy, choppy, lumpy closeout of a wave. Even if it were cleaner, at 5 ft with that short period and onshore wind, it’s not surfable. That kind of setup with a strong cross-onshore and an exposed beach break? That’s kite territory, and not much else.

And then just as quick as it appears, it fades. By Sunday afternoon, the swell drops to 1 ft with a long-period (10 sec) leftover that will probably just make the water look bumpy. It’s a classic false dawn.

So, the bottom line: this is a tough run for West Dale. The area is seeing a blank spell that is more normal for this time of year than a lucky break. Don’t hold your breath; forecasts can change, but right now, there’s not a sniff of a wave for a paddle surfer in the next 16 days. Keep the board in the car, but leave the wettie at home.

Rusty.

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