Back Strands Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s on offer.

Honestly, I’m scratching my head a bit. For the next sixteen days, we’ve got almost nothing that’s worth getting excited about at Back Strands. It’s a reef set-up, and it’s fairly consistent, but the forecast is just one long string of poor surf conditions. The water is sitting at 61°F, which is a touch warmer than normal for this time of year, but that’s about the only mild comfort.

The first real chance of something that looks like a wave comes on Tuesday, July 28th, but it’s a no-go right from the start. We’ve got 4ft of swell from the west, with a short period of 8 seconds and a combined energy of 165 (moderate). The problem is a cross-shore wind from the southwest at 12 mph, putting a chop on it. It’s a write-off.

Wednesday the 29th is a bit smaller, with 3ft from the west-northwest, period still 8 seconds, and energy dropping to 111. The wind is lighter from the west at 6 mph, but it’s cross-on, and it’s still messy. Thursday the 30th sees a bump in wind to 16 mph from the west-northwest, with 4ft of swell, but the period is a short 7 seconds and the wave energy is 143. The wind is onshore, so it’s just a bumpy, choppy mess.

We drift through the end of July and into the first week of August with nothing but poor conditions. The swell drops off, the wind stays bad, and the energy readings fall into the weak category. By Sunday, August 2nd, we get a tiny 2ft from the northwest, period of 8 seconds, and the wind finally goes glassy from the east-southeast at 3 mph. But the energy is only 54, and it’s still labeled as poor surf conditions. It’s a tease.

There’s a gap from about August 3rd through to August 7th where the swell is tiny, often under 2ft, and the energy is in the single or low double digits. It’s flat. No surf to speak of.

Then, on Saturday, August 8th, we see a bit of a pulse. Swell comes up to 3ft from the west, with a 9-second period and energy of 165. The wind is onshore from the northwest at 3 mph, but it’s still poor. By the afternoon, it’s 4ft from the west, 8-second period, and energy of 173, but the wind is onshore from the west-northwest at 6 mph. It’s just not clean.

Sunday the 9th has a moment where the wind goes glassy in the afternoon from the west-northwest at 3 mph, with 2ft of swell from the west, 7-second period, and energy of 54. But it’s still poor. The rest of the run fades out to nothing.

So, what’s the standout? There isn’t one. Not a single session in this whole sixteen-day window looks good. The best we can say is that the reef is fairly consistent, but with the wind and swell quality being so poor, there’s nothing to recommend. For a beginner, anything over 5ft is too much, and we don’t even get that. For an expert, you need over 8ft, and we don’t get that either. The short periods (mostly under 8 seconds) mean the waves are weak and crumbly.

This is a stretch of flat and poor conditions. It’s a blank run. It’s a good time to clean your gear or check the cams elsewhere. The forecasts can change, but right now, it’s a hard pass.

Rusty.

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