Bar Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, let's get into it.

First, the good news: we’ve got some surf on the horizon. The bad news? There’s a dry spell to start, so don’t bother paddling out for the next few days. The first real shot of anything rideable shows up later this week.

Let’s start with the standout window. Sunday morning, August 2nd at Bar Beach is the pick of the first week. The swell will be a clean 5 ft from the SSE, but what makes it special is the period – 13 seconds. That’s a proper groundswell, packing some serious punch. The combined swell energy is a hefty 905 (moderate-strong), and with a light NNW cross-off breeze, it’ll be clean as a whistle. This is the best we’re looking at for a while. The water temp sits at 64°, which is about 1° cooler than average for this time of year – nothing too out of the ordinary, pretty standard.

Friday morning, July 31st – we’ve got 7 ft of S swell, but it’s a cross-shore mess with a 12 mph SSW breeze. The energy is high (1423), but the conditions are marginal. Surfable, but not fun. This one’s more of a grinder than a gem.

Saturday morning, August 1st brings a drop to 5 ft from the SSE, period at 9 seconds, and a light WSW cross-off. The combined energy is 404 (moderate). It’s clean, but the swell is a little weak and short-period – okay for a beginner cruise.

Then we hit that Sunday window I mentioned. After that, the surf tapers off fast. Monday, August 3rd is small (4 ft, SE, 11s, 272 energy) and clean, but nothing to write home about.

There’s a real lull from Tuesday, August 4th through to Thursday, August 7th – mostly flat, weak energy (down to 25-245), with only small, ordinary waves at best. Not worth the wetsuit.

We get a tiny bump around Friday, August 8th and Saturday, August 9th – 3 ft at best, 8 second period, energy around 111-139. Clean, but barely surfable. It’s a waiting game.

Now, here’s the curveball. Look ahead to Saturday morning, August 15th. The models are showing a massive 16 ft SSE swell with a 11-second period. The combined energy is absolutely cooking at 5543 (very strong). The wind is light and offshore from the NNW, so it would be clean. But – and this is a big but – that’s way too big for Bar Beach. This is expert-only territory, and even then, it’s sketchy. Keep an eye on it, but don’t get your hopes up unless you’ve got a lot of experience and a big board.

So, the honest take: Sunday, August 2nd is your best bet for clean, decent waves. After that, it’s mostly small and average until that big, dangerous swell mid-month.

Stay patient.
Rusty.

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