Zero Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here.

Well, to be honest, it’s a quiet stretch ahead. The only name on the board for this whole 16-day run is “Zero”, a point break that rarely breaks. So we’ve got a long gap of pretty much no surf worth paddling out for, right from the start. Let’s walk through it.

The first record kicks off Tuesday, August 18th, and it’s a tiny 2ft SSW swell with a long 16-second period. The energy’s moderate at best – sitting around 286 (moderate). Winds are cross-on from the WSW at 6 mph, so it’s a bit bumpy. This is marginal stuff, only scoring a 1 out of 10 for quality, so don’t expect much.

Wednesday the 19th is similar, 3ft SSW swell in the morning with 15-second period, cross-on wind again. The afternoon cleans up with a cross-off breeze from the WNW at 12 mph, but still only 2ft. Energy’s dropped to 231. Still marginal.

From Thursday the 20th through to Saturday the 22nd, things go from poor to worse. Swell drops to 2ft and even 1ft, with energy falling to 119 on Saturday morning. Scores are zero. Winds are mostly light, but the surf is just not there.

Sunday the 23rd sees a slight uptick with a 1ft SW swell and a very long 19-second period. That long period means better shaped waves, but at 1ft, it’s barely a ripple. Energy jumps to 268 in the morning though. Afternoon is clean with a cross-off, but it’s still marginal.

The next week slides by with tiny 1ft to 2ft swells, mostly cross-off winds in the afternoons. Nothing exciting. The water temperature is about average for this time of year, so no surprises there for Zero.

Then on Wednesday the 26th, we get a bit of a pulse – 4ft swell from the west, but the period is short at 7 seconds. That’s windswell, not groundswell, so it’ll be choppy and weak. Energy peaks at 328 in the morning. Even so, the morning has a cross-on wind, and the 4ft height is manageable for beginners, but the short period makes it messy.

Now, the only real standout comes at the end of the month. Friday, August 28th afternoon: a 3ft west swell with a 10-second period rolls in, and energy jumps to 404 (strong). Winds are cross-off from the WNW at 9 mph, so it’ll be clean. This is the best bet in the whole window – a fun size for all levels, good shape, and clean conditions.

Saturday the 29th and Sunday the 30th keep it going with 3ft SSW swells, 16-17 second periods, and cross-off winds in the afternoons. Energy stays strong at 505 on Saturday morning and 486 in the afternoon. These are promising, but still on the smaller side. Crowds at Zero are listed as “sometimes”, so you might have a few out, but it won’t be a zoo.

By Monday the 31st and Tuesday the 1st of September, it fades back to 2ft-3ft with lower energy, and then back to poor conditions. The 2nd of September is a flat day with just 2ft S swell.

So overall, it’s a long dry spell with only a few days of marginal-to-okay surf. The best call is the afternoon of Friday the 28th through to Sunday the 30th, with clean cross-off winds and moderate swells. If you’re after a wave, that’s your window. Otherwise, maybe the kite surfers get a look in on those west windswell days.

Rusty.

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