Back Strands Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s cookin’ at Back Strands over the next couple of weeks.

First up, I gotta be straight with ya—it’s gonna be a real quiet spell for a while. The water’s sitting at about 61°, which is a touch warmer than normal for this time of year, but that’s about the only thing that’s buzzing. We’re looking at tiny dribble for days on end. From this Saturday the 11th right through until nearly the end of the week starting the 20th, there’s barely a ripple worth paddling for. The swell is tiny—mostly 0.7ft to 1ft—and the wind’s all over the shop. A few mornings are clean with cross-off breezes, but there’s just no energy in the water to work with. Combined swell energy readings are down in the single digits or barely scraping double digits, which tells you it’s flat out weak.

Now, there’s a little glimmer on Tuesday the 21st in the morning. Swell bumps up to 3ft from the west, with a period of 8 seconds, and the energy jumps to 113—that’s moderate. The wind is light out of the SSE, so it’s clean. The waves are surfable but nothing to write home about. It’s still ordinary, but it’s the first thing we’ve seen in a while. That afternoon though, things get messy quick—swell jumps to 6ft but with onshore wind, so it’s a choppy mess.

By Wednesday the 22nd, the swell sticks around in the 4ft to 5ft range out of the west, period around 8 seconds, energy in the 200s. But the wind’s cross-onshore and it’s choppy. Not exactly a day to clear the calendar. Thursday the 23rd is similar—3ft to 4ft, same direction, cross-onshore wind again.

Friday the 24th morning shapes up a bit cleaner with light east winds, but the swell’s dropped back to 2ft. Okay for a cruise but not a standout.

Now, here’s where it gets interesting. Saturday morning the 25th brings a pulse of 6ft swell from the west-northwest, period just 6 seconds—so it’s short period windswell. Combined energy hits 222, which is moderate. The wind is light from the SSW, so it’s clean. This is the best looking window in the whole run. But that swell size at 6ft is getting big for beginners, and the short period means it’ll be a bit lumpy and fat at a beach break. For the experienced crew though, it’s the one to circle. Saturday afternoon looks like it gets blown out with westerly winds again.

After that, Sunday the 26th drops off fast—3ft and messy cross-shore winds, energy falling back under 100. The window closes.

So overall, if you’re hanging for a wave, you’re gonna be waitin’ until the 21st at the earliest for anything rideable. The standout window is that Saturday morning the 25th with clean conditions and a bit of push—just keep an eye on that short period. The rest of the run is a whole lot of nothin’. But hey, forecasts change, and it’s a consistent spot, so it won’t stay flat forever.

Rusty.

Read more