West Dale Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, grab a coffee and settle in. The next couple of weeks are a bit of a mixed bag for us. We're looking at a long stretch of pretty ordinary conditions before a couple of windows open up, but you've got to be patient.

First up, the early days aren't offering anything worth paddling out for. From Tuesday the 25th right through to the end of the month, it's a write-off. We've got tiny little slop, onshore winds, and just no real energy. The combined swell energy is down in the 20s and 30s for most of that, barely a ripple. You'd be wasting your time.

Things actually get worse before they get better. Late August and the start of September brings some proper size, but the wind is all wrong. On Saturday the 29th, we start seeing some meaty swell, but it's got a nasty onshore wind on it. Swell heights push up to 8 ft that afternoon, with a combined energy of 1819, but with a fresh breeze from the WSW, it'll be a complete mess. By Monday the 31st, that swell is hitting 10 ft with a strong cross-onshore, and the energy is pumping at 1108, but again, the wind is just shredding it. This whole stretch is more interesting for the kite crew than for us paddle surfers.

There is a gap of flat, windy days from the 1st to the 6th of September. The morning of Saturday the 5th finally sees the wind swing offshore, but the swell has dropped right off to 4 ft and the combined energy is only 289. The score is a 1 out of 10, so it's really marginal. The following Tuesday, the 8th of September, is where the real stand-out sits.

West Dale – that's the only break on the cards here – gets a proper pulse. On Tuesday the 8th, a long-period groundswell rolls in from the WSW. The morning has 6 ft of swell with a period of 15 seconds, and the combined energy jumps to 2094. That is a lot of power. The wind is a clean cross-offshore from the NNE, and it's only a moderate breeze. The afternoon looks even better, with 7 ft swell, a period of 14 seconds, and a combined energy of 1704. The wind stays clean and cross-off. That's a solid, powerful south-west swell with clean conditions. Just keep in mind, that's a long-period (15 seconds) groundswell. It'll be packing a punch with big gaps between sets, but it'll be lined up and clean. It is a bit on the bigger side, so maybe not for the beginners.

By Wednesday the 9th, the power drops back. We still get a clean 4 ft swell with offshore wind from the east and a combined energy of 466. It's a good wave, but it's a step down from the absolute beauty we saw the day before.

So to sum it up: if you can only pick one window, make it Tuesday the 8th at West Dale. That's the standout. The big, long-period swell paired with that offshore wind is going to be special. Everything else in the next two weeks is either too small, too windy, or both.

Stay patient out there.

Rusty.

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