Ammonias Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Right, let’s be honest with you. The next two weeks at Ammonias are a real mixed bag, and by that I mean mostly rubbish. The ENE wind sits on us for the entire window, and it’s always coming at us cross or cross-on, so it’s going to be hard to find any real clean lines. The water’s sitting at 80°F with no real anomaly, so it’s pretty standard for this time of year.

The first week is a write-off. We’re looking at poor surf conditions through Wednesday the 5th and Thursday the 6th, with wave heights around 3ft to 5ft and a short, weak period of 8 to 10 seconds. Combined energy is weak to moderate (329 to 486). It’s just messy. The weekend doesn’t get any better. The swell pushes up a bit to 5ft to 6ft, but the period is still short at 6 to 7 seconds, so it’s all chop and no power. The energy climbs into the 600s (659-667) but it’s still cross and choppy. Don’t even bother.

There’s a gap where it’s still poor but the swell direction swings around to the SSW for a day, but the heights drop to 2ft to 3ft. It’s still cross-onshore, so it’s not offering anything.

The only real spark in this whole forecast is the window from Wednesday the 12th through to Friday the 14th of August. The swell direction swings around to the south, and the period jumps to 15 to 18 seconds. That’s proper groundswell, and the energy numbers tell the story – we’re seeing 1058 to 1185, which is strong. The wave height is only around 4ft to 4ft, but the long period means it’ll have some push to it. Here’s the catch, though. Ammonias is a reef setup, and while a long-period south swell is exactly what it wants, this one is still coming in with that ENE cross-breeze. The mornings are cross-on, and the afternoons are cross. So it’s not going to be perfect, but it’s the best we’re going to get. The 12th and 13th look like the pick, with the 13th having that solid energy (1185). It’s still a marginal call, but it’s the only thing that’s even close to being rideable.

After that, it just drops off again. The swell swings back to the ENE, the period drops back to 8 seconds, and the heights jump up to 7ft to 8ft by the 16th and 17th. That’s more size, but with that short, cross wind, it’s going to be a washing machine. It’s too big for beginners and, with the onshore chop, it’s only going to be messy for everyone else. The energy stays moderate to strong (812 to 961) but it’s all junk. The final days slide back down into the 2ft range with a long SSW period, but the wind is still on it, so it’s a tease more than anything.

So there you have it. One small window of promise in the middle of the fortnight, but nothing to get overly excited about. The setup looks more interesting for a kite surfer than a paddle surfer, to be honest.

Rusty.

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