Back Strands Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, let’s break it down for Back Strands.

Honestly, the next couple of weeks are looking pretty flat and grim. We’ve got a long stretch of poor surf conditions ahead, with only a brief glimmer of something halfway decent way out toward the end of the outlook. The water temp here is 16°, which is a touch warmer than normal for this time of year, so at least you won’t be freezing your tail off while you’re waiting for a wave that never comes.

We’re starting off Thursday morning, 30 July, with a tiny 3ft swell from the WNW and a period of just 8 seconds, so it’s weak, short-period windswell. The combined wave energy is 105 (moderate), but the wind is a cross-on 20 km/h from the west, making it choppy and messy. No good. That afternoon gets worse – rain showers, wind picks up to 30 km/h, and the swell is still small and weak. Friday the 31st and Saturday the 1st of August are more of the same: tiny waves, cross-onshore winds, and poor surf. Nothing to get excited about.

Sunday the 2nd of August morning is interesting though – we get a brief window of clean conditions. The wind drops to 5 km/h from the east, swinging cross-offshore, and the swell is a pathetic 2ft from the WNW with 8-second period. Energy is a weak 43. It’s clean, but there’s barely any wave to ride.

From Monday the 3rd through to the end of the first week, the swell drops to almost nothing – less than 1ft. The best you’ll see is clean, small, and completely unrideable. The combined energy falls into single digits or low teens. This is a dead period.

The second week, from around the 7th of August onward, is still flat. Morning of the 11th of August gives us a glassy morning with a tiny 3ft swell from the NW, period only 6 seconds, energy 59 – still weak. It’s clean, but the swell is too small and short-period to do anything with.

The only real standout comes on Thursday the 14th of August afternoon. We’ve got a 5ft swell from the WNW with a period of 10 seconds, and combined wave energy jumps to 378 – that’s solid moderate energy. The wind is light from the WNW, blowing directly onshore, but at only 10 km/h it’s not wrecking it completely. Still, the direction is onshore, so it won’t be perfect. The swell is under 5ft, so it’s fine for most surfers, not too big for beginners. The period is moderate, not long period, so it’ll be a bit more consistent.

Overall, the only real window of interest is that Thursday 14th August afternoon, and even then it’s far from epic. The rest of the 16 days is a write-off. If you’re desperate, the 2nd of August morning is clean but tiny. Otherwise, keep your board in the car and wait for a better forecast.

Rusty.

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