Bells Beach - Bowl Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Righto, let’s see what’s on the cards. We’ve got our eyes on Bells Beach – the Bowl, a solid reef and point setup that loves a good SW groundswell. Water temp is sitting at 57°F, pretty much normal for this time of year, so don’t expect any surprises there. The coming days have a bit of a mixed bag, with the first real standout waiting till the weekend.

Looks like Wednesday the 29th is a write-off – 8ft of lumpy, cross-shore wind, not worth paddling out for. Thursday the 30th morning is cleaner, with 5ft SSW swell and a gentler wind, but the energy is moderate (837 combined energy) and nothing to get too excited about. Friday morning is small at 4ft SW, clean but weak.

Now, Saturday the 1st of August is where things start looking tasty. The afternoon brings a clean 5ft SW swell with a very long 17-second period and a glassy offshore breeze. The combined energy jumps to 2001 – solid moderate energy. That’s a proper groundswell, and Bells being a reef and point, those long-period waves will set up beautifully. This is a standout session, but it’ll draw a crowd – so get in early.

Sunday the 2nd has a bit more size but the wind stiffens – 16 mph cross-off keeps it clean, but the 4ft SW swell feels weaker. Monday the 3rd drops right off. The real next highlight is Wednesday the 5th of August. The afternoon delivers 4ft SW swell with a long 18-second period, combined energy of 1022, and true offshore wind. That’s clean, lined-up, and punchy for a point break.

Thursday the 6th keeps the good run going with 4ft SW and offshore wind in the morning, clean and glassy. Then we hit a quiet spell – from Friday the 7th afternoon through to Monday the 10th, it’s all small, lacklustre, or blown-out. A gap of a few days where you’re better off doing something else.

Then Tuesday the 11th of August, look out. Morning glass with a 7ft SW swell and a 17-second period – combined energy of 4896, strong wave energy. That’s expert territory, big and powerful. The afternoon drops to 6ft but picks up a cross-shore breeze, so morning is the pick. Wednesday the 12th has a solid 8ft SSW swell with 3952 combined energy, but the wind is cross-off, keeping it clean – still only for the experienced.

After that, the energy backs off into mellow 5ft SW swell by the 13th.

So the standout sessions are Saturday the 1st August afternoon and Wednesday the 5th August afternoon – clean, long-period SW groundswell with offshore winds. The big stuff on Tuesday the 11th morning is for the crew who know what they’re doing.

Rusty.

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