Windang Island Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Look, I’m gonna be straight with you—this 16-day window for Windang Island is a long, frustrating grind with very little to get excited about. The water temp is sitting around 65°, which is pretty normal for this time of year, so no surprises there.

The first week or so is a write-off. From Wednesday the 19th of August right through to the end of the month, it’s mostly small, weak, and messy. Swell energy is low, often under 100 (like 157 on Wednesday arvo, dropping to 18 by Saturday morning), with short-period slop and cross-onshore winds making a mess of things. You’ll see a few clean windows—like Friday morning the 21st with a light cross-off breeze and tiny 2ft to 2ft ENE swell—but it’s barely surfable. There’s a gap of about 10 days where there’s nothing worth pointing the car at.

Things start to change around Tuesday the 25th of August. A bit more size pushes in, with 4ft NE swell on Tuesday afternoon, combined energy up to 195 and a clean cross-off wind, but the rain’s coming down and the conditions are only “surfable.” Still not a standout.

The first real glimmer shows up on Friday morning the 28th of August. Expect clean surf with a light cross-off breeze from the NW, a 3ft S swell at 10 seconds, and combined energy of 206. It’s small, but it’s the cleanest wave of the early period.

Now, the standout—and it’s a long-range one, so keep an eye on it—is Sunday the 30th of August. The morning brings a 7ft S swell at 9 seconds, with energy jumping to 749, and the afternoon kicks up to 8ft S swell at 10 seconds and a massive 1568 energy reading. The wind is onshore from the ENE, so it’s not perfect, but there’s plenty of power. This is a solid groundswell with a period over 10 seconds, and for a reef and point setup like Windang Island, that’s a good thing—it’ll wrap in nicely. The size is pushing into expert territory, so leave the beginners at home.

After that, the swell just keeps building into the start of September, but it gets too big. By Monday the 31st of August, we’re looking at 16ft S swell with a period of 14 seconds and energy over 13,000—that’s huge, dangerous, and mostly closed out. The wind stays cross-onshore, and the break is overwhelmed. It’s more of a big-wave or kite-surfing setup by then.

Overall, if you’re patient, the best bet is the afternoon of Sunday the 30th of August. It’s a long way out, so the forecast could shift, but if it holds, that’s the one. Friday the 28th morning is a solid small-wave clean option too.

Rusty.

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