Big Ben Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s get into it for Big Ben.

Alright, let’s be straight with you. The next few days are looking pretty grim at Big Ben. We’ve got a long stretch of weak, short-period swell and poor wind conditions that just aren’t going to deliver anything decent. For the first few days, from Thursday the 30th of July through to Friday the 31st, the swell is tiny, barely 2ft to 3ft, with a short period of 6 seconds. The wind is mostly cross or cross-on, making for choppy, bumpy conditions. It’s just not worth getting wet.

Saturday morning the 1st of August, the swell drops right off to 1.0ft, but at least the wind goes glassy. The combined energy is weak (55), so it’s barely a ripple. You might get a few knee-high wobbles, but it’s really ordinary.

We get a bit of a pulse on Sunday the 2nd of August. The swell picks up to 5ft, coming from the ESE with a very long period of 16 seconds. The combined energy is moderate (1047). That period is a real groundswell, which means it’ll have more shape, but at a beach/jetty setup, those long-period swells can break a bit too straight. The wind is a light cross-on from the ENE, so it won’t be perfect, but it’s the best we’ll have seen in days. The morning is your best bet. By the afternoon, the wind picks up to 9 mph and it gets choppy.

Now, here’s the thing. From Monday the 3rd of August through to the 8th, the swell gets big. We’re talking 8ft up to 16ft from the SE and S. The combined energy gets massive, hitting 10,000+ (very strong). For a beginner-friendly spot, this is way too big. Anything over 8ft is only for experts. The wind is mostly cross or cross-on, making it messy. The forecasts say the wind and tide are favorable, but the swell is just too big for this break. It’s going to be a washing machine. It might be a better setup for the kite surfers than paddle surfers.

The swell finally starts to drop on the 8th of August. Saturday the 8th sees 5ft to 6ft from the SW and ESE, with a period of 13 to 15 seconds. The wind is still cross-on, but it’s lighter, so the morning session might be workable. It’s a marginal call.

The second week, from the 9th of August onward, is a bit of a mixed bag of mediocrity. There’s consistent swell between 5ft and 8ft, but the wind is almost always cross-on or cross-shore chopping it up. The best potential looks like Wednesday the 12th of August morning, with 8ft from the ENE, but the period is a short 9 seconds, so it’ll be weak and lumpy. Then it jumps to 16ft in the afternoon – way too big again.

The real standout is Tuesday the 13th of August morning. The wind goes clean offshore (cross-off from the NE) with an 12ft swell from the E. The period is 12 seconds, which is good. The combined energy is very strong (5407). That’s a solid, powerful swell, but at 12ft, it’s expert-only. If you’re a charger, that’s the window. It’s a promising call, but it’s over a week away, so don’t lock it in.

The water temperature is sitting at 80° with a normal anomaly of 0.7°, so it’s pretty average for this time of year.

So, to sum it up: the first few days are a complete write-off. Sunday the 2nd is the best of the early stuff, but it’s not a classic. The only real standout for strong surfers is the 13th of August morning, but it’s a big-swell, expert-only window. For the rest, it’s a waiting game. The setup doesn’t look great for paddle surfing in the big stuff, so keep an eye on the kite crew.

Rusty.

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