Zero Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let's take a look at what's on the table for this patch of coast. Honestly, for the first week or so, it’s looking pretty flat and disappointing. We’re in a real dry spell until things potentially wake up later on.

We start off on Friday, August 14th, with a bit of a tease. The swell is a weak 2ft from the SSW, but the period is a very long 18 seconds. That’s groundswell, alright, but the combined energy is only moderate at best (509). The wind is a messy cross-shore, and the water is a staggering 4° warmer than normal, which feels very unusual for this time of year. Honestly, the conditions are marginal, and it’s hardly worth getting wet for.

Saturday the 15th is much the same story. A clean-looking 3ft SSW swell on Saturday afternoon, with a decent 16-second period (504 moderate energy), and a cross-offshore wind from the WNW. It’s clean, but the size is just too small to get excited about. This whole pattern of small, long-period SSW swell continues day after day with light winds, but the wave heights just hover around 2ft to 3ft. The energy level stays in the moderate range, but it’s just not enough to push the tide.

We hit a real low point from Friday, August 21st, through Sunday, August 23rd. Swell drops right off, below 2ft, and the energy dips into the weak two-digit zone (84 to 232). It’s poor, and honestly, it looks more like a kite-surfing setup than a paddle-surfing one with those clean cross-offshore winds on the small waves.

But then, around Monday the 24th, things start to stir in the longer range. A new pulse of SSE swell shows up. By Tuesday the 25th, we’ve got a 5ft SSE swell with a 16-second period, and the combined energy jumps into the strong zone at 1069. The morning has onshore wind, but Tuesday afternoon looks promising with a light cross-shore wind. The swell continues to build through Wednesday the 26th, hitting 5ft from the S, with energy peaking at 1036. Again, the morning winds are onshore, but afternoons go light cross-shore. This swell is getting into that intermediate zone; over 5ft, it’s a bit much for the beginners, but not quite expert territory.

The standout window looks to be Thursday, August 27th. The morning is a bit messy, but the Thursday afternoon session at Zero (point break) is the pick of the forecast. The swell holds at a long-period 4ft from the SSW, and we get a clean, cross-offshore breeze from the WNW. The energy is still moderate at 522, but for this spot, the conditions align perfectly. The direction is straight out of the optimum SSW, and a point break is the ideal home for this kind of longer-period swell, keeping it from just walling up. It won’t be huge, but it’ll be clean, organised, and fun. Remember, this is over a week away, so while it looks promising, the long-range forecast is a bit less certain.

The swell slowly winds back down into the end of August with smaller SSW pulses and light winds, but that Thursday session is the one to circle on the calendar.

Rusty, signing off.

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