Cave Rock • Statistics for August

August: Late Winter - Sizing Down but Still Solid

August is the tail end of the prime winter season, but it's still a solid month for Cave Rock. The average swell height nudges up to 1.8m (5.9ft) - the highest yearly average - while the period drops slightly to 10.2s. Ideal wind frequency falls to 40%, still workable but no longer the automatic lockdown of June and July. The wind rose shows a stronger NE influence (15.4%) and a bit less westerly flow (W 2.7%, WNW 2.8%, NW 3.4%, NNW 7.4%). Swell direction begins to shift back eastward: ENE (14.2%) and E (14.2%) are now as important as SSE (16.6%) and S (20.9%). SSW makes a final winter appearance at 1.6%. The wave heights are decent, with the 1.5-2m and 2-2.5m bands heavily represented, but the shorter and more easterly component reduces the quality. Water temp bottoms out at 21.3°C, air at 19.9°C, and rainfall remains low at 1.06mm/day. You'll still get plenty of clean days with head-high waves, but the straighter E swells can become a bit sectiony. Chasing the S-SSW pulse is the key to making August score big.