Windmills Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s break down what’s happening at Windmills (a reef setup for the advanced crew). I’ve got to be straight with you—the next week and a half looks pretty grim for a decent paddle. The whole 16-day window starts off with basically no surf worth paddling out for.

We’ve got a long gap here. The first recommendation doesn't come until Tuesday, the 1st of September. Before that, from Wednesday the 19th of August all the way through to Monday the 31st of August, the surf is poor. The swell is inconsistent, mostly short-period windswell in the 5 to 8 second range, and the wind is cross or cross-onshore with a cross-chop almost every day. It's messy out there.

The best wave energy during that first stretch only hits moderate levels (125 to 321). Even when we get some clean-looking wind on the 24th and 25th of August with clean conditions, the swell quality is just poor—short period ENE windswell at 6 ft to 7 ft isn't doing it. Honestly, with those strong winds over 25 mph, this setup looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing until things change.

Then, we finally see a shift on Tuesday the 1st of September. The swell turns on properly. We’re looking at a standout ENE groundswell hitting 7 ft to 8 ft with a very long period of 13 seconds. The combined wave energy shoots up to a strong 1563 to 1767. This is proper power. It’s going to be too big for beginners—over 8 ft is expert-only, and while this sits just under that, it’s still heavy.

That long-period groundswell (over 15 seconds? No, this is 13 seconds, so still very solid) will be powerful. At a reef break like Windmills, that long-period energy will really focus up and produce some proper shaped waves. Expect longer lulls between sets, but the sets that come through will have real punch. The only letdown is the cross-shore wind (19 to 22 mph) causing a cross-chop, which will mess with the face a bit.

Wednesday the 2nd of September is similar but a touch bigger at 8 ft, with that very long 13-second period and even stronger energy (1922). Still, the wind stays cross with a fresh breeze and lumpy conditions, keeping it from being perfect. By Thursday the 3rd of September, the swell backs off to 5 ft and the period drops to 10 seconds, with cleaner cross-offshore wind—but it’s still classed as poor surf.

So, the only real standout is Tuesday the 1st of September at Windmills. The size, the long period, the strong energy—it’s the best the whole run has to offer. Just be ready for the wind to put a bit of a chop on it. For the rest of the window, I’d say sit tight or look for something else.

Rusty.

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