Anse Bougainville Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here, and I’ve gotta be straight with you – I’m looking out over the horizon at Anse Bougainville and the next two weeks are a write-off for decent waves. There’s nothing on offer worth paddling out for. We’re stuck in a pattern of poor surf conditions with onshore and cross-onshore winds that are ruining any chance of clean lines.

Let’s run through it. Starting on Thursday, July 2, we’ve got a weak 5ft swell from SSE, but it’s crossed up with a 16 mph wind. The water temp sits at 80°, pretty normal for this time of year. But don’t get excited – the wave comment is “poor surf conditions” and that’s the story all the way through.

Friday and Saturday the swell holds around 5ft to 5ft from SSE, but again, it’s blown out. The wind is a constant moderate breeze, either onshore or cross-onshore, and the combined wave energy is weak to moderate, hitting between 269 and 487 on those days. Periods are short, mostly 7-10 seconds, so no grunt behind them at all.

Into Sunday and Monday the swell picks up to 4ft-8ft, with energy climbing into the 800s, but the wind stiffens to a fresh breeze from the SSE at 22 mph. That’s a classic “fresh cross-onshore and lumpy” situation. The setup at this reef break is an exposed one, and with the wind hammering it, it’s just a mess. For the beginner crowd, the Monday morning swell is hitting 8ft – that’s getting too big for groms and inexperienced surfers anyway.

Midweek, Tuesday July 7 through Thursday July 9, the swell sits at 7ft to 8ft, with the energy peaking at 1018 on the 9th. That’s moderate to strong wave energy, but again, fresh onshore winds at 16-22 mph spoil it completely. The wave comment doesn’t change – it’s all “poor surf conditions.”

The second week shows no signs of relief. We see the same onshore flow from Friday July 10 through to the end of the window on July 17. There’s a brief period around July 14 where we get a long-period groundswell from the S, with periods of 17-18 seconds, but the swell height is only 3ft-4ft, and the wind is still blowing 16-19 mph onshore. That long period with a small, onshore wind swell just turns into bumpy, close-out slop at a beach-reef setup.

For a couple of days around the 14th-16th, we get a long-period swell from SSW with periods over 15 seconds, but the heights are tiny – 3ft to 4ft – and the wind doesn’t let up. That kind of long-period energy tends to break too straight on beach breaks, and with the constant fresh breeze, it’s not worth the paddle.

Honestly mates, with no standout days, no clean winds, and a near-constant “poor surf conditions” stamp on the forecast, I’d say we’ve got a blank run of the full 16 days. This is a place where the consistency rating is “consistent,” but the quality just isn’t there in this window. The combined energy does hit four-digit values a few times (1018, 1228, 1179) indicating strong swell energy, but it’s never paired with decent wind. For the kite crew, this setup with the constant strong onshore winds might be more interesting, but for paddle surfing, we’re sitting it out. Forecasts do change, but right now, don’t hold your breath.

Rusty.

Read more