Back Strands Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let me lay it out for you at Back Strands for the next 16 days. I gotta warn you, it’s looking pretty quiet. No real standouts. The first time you might actually want to paddle out isn’t until the morning of Thursday, 9 July, and even that’s a small day.

From this Friday afternoon, 3 July, all the way to that Thursday, we’re looking at a long stretch of not much at all. The swell is small, the wind’s messy, and the notes say “poor surf conditions” over and over. The combined swell energy on Friday afternoon is around 291 (moderate), but there’s a 15 mph cross-shore wind and light rain. No good.

By Saturday, 4 July, the swell picks up to about 5 ft, but the wind swings to a fresh 22 mph cross-shore, making it lumpy and cross-onshore. That’s a washing machine, not a surf. And it does that all weekend.

The first real glimmer comes Thursday, 9 July morning. We get a light offshore wind from the SE, a 2 ft swell from the west at a 9-second period, and combined energy of 81. The wind is barely there—just a slight air. It’s clean, but it’s small and ordinary. Then the afternoon turns glassy with a slight air from the SW. That’s our best offering. Water temp is 62°, which is about 5° warmer than usual for this time of year – a nice surprise, you can probably get away with a shorty.

It’s not big, it’s not powerful, but it’s surfable. After that, Sunday the 12th morning goes glassy again, but the swell is only 2 ft and weak, at 68 combined energy. Monday the 13th afternoon shows another glassy window with a 3 ft west swell at 9 seconds, 137 combined energy. That’s the most energy we see in the whole run, but it’s still “very ordinary.”

Everything else is just poor – small surf, onshore wind, low energy. The swell direction out of the west is what Back Strands likes, with the optimum being W, but the size just isn’t there to make it worthwhile. This is a reef break that’s fairly consistent, and crowds are sometimes a thing, but with this little swell, you’ll probably have it to yourself.

The second week looks even worse. The swell stays tiny, the wind turns back onshore, and the combined energy drops into the 20s and 30s – really weak. Not worth the drive.

So there it is. A couple of small but clean windows, and that’s it. Keep your expectations low, but if you see glassy water and a little west swell, you might get a wave or two.

Rusty.

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