Back Strands Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, grab your wettie and listen up. It’s Rusty here, and I’ve gotta be straight with you: the next couple of weeks are looking pretty grim for a proper surf at Back Strands. We’re looking at a long, flat, and messy stretch before anything even thinks about showing up.

Right off the bat, the water is sitting at 61.3°, which is a touch warmer than usual for this time of year. Don't get too excited though; it's not gonna save the surf.

For the first week, from Friday the 31st through to the 8th, it's just one of those soul-destroying runs we get sometimes. The swell is tiny, barely a ripple. We're talking ankle-snappers at best, and the wind is all over the shop—cross-onshore and choppy for the most part. The energy in the water is weak, with combined values mostly in the double digits, like 90 on Friday morning dropping down to 6 by the 4th. It’s a whole lot of nothing. Sunday the 2nd and Monday the 3rd do clean up with some light offshore breezes, but there’s just no swell to push through. It’ll be as smooth as glass but as flat as a pancake. Then we get a couple of days of onshore wind and rain to make sure we don't get too comfortable.

The gap with no real surf lasts a solid eight days. We finally get a pulse of something on Sunday the 9th of August. The morning is still weak, but the afternoon sees a jump up to 4.6ft from the WNW with a period of 9 seconds. The wind goes light and clean, turning cross-off. Energy climbs to a moderate 322. This is our first real sign of life, but it’s still just an average day, nothing to write home about. It’s a start though. The 10th will have a bit of that leftover WNW swell, but it fades quickly through the day.

Then another flat spell hits from the 11th to the 14th. The energy just drains right out of the water again. There's a day with a very long period swell forecast for the 12th, but no size behind it. All show, no go.

The signal for the final part of the window on the 15th is a bit more promising, but don’t go booking the day off yet. Saturday the 15th sees size build back up to 3.9ft – 4.3ft from the WNW, with moderate energy values of 104 and 186. The problem is, the wind turns onshore and cross-onshore, making it messy. If that wind cleans up, we could have something contestable, but as it stands, it will be lumpy. It’s a long way out, so keep your fingers crossed. But for now, it’s a waiting game.

Stay patient, keep your boards waxed, and watch the charts. This flat spell won't last forever.

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