Big Wave Bay Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Right, folks, Rusty here. Let’s stare at Big Wave Bay for a bit. I’ll be straight with you – this is a tough run. The whole 16-day window looks bleak, with a big gap of nothing worthwhile at the start and then a stretch where the ocean just turns angry and messy.

We kick off with nothing. Monday the 7th through to Wednesday the 9th are a write-off – tiny swell, poor conditions, just forget it. You’d be better off cleaning the wax off your board. The water’s sitting at 83° F, which is pretty much spot on for this time of year, so that’s the only thing that’s normal.

Thursday the 10th sees a pulse of energy come through, but it’s all wrong. The swell gets up to 4 ft from the east, but it’s short period, and the wind is a cross/onshore mess. The combined energy hits 125 (moderate) but it’s not doing us any favours – it’s just choppy and ugly.

Then Friday the 11th is the only day that’s even worth a look. Morning session: 4 ft east swell, period 8 seconds, with a cross-offshore breeze from the NNE. The wind cleans it up, and the energy is moderate at 186. It’s surfable, but it’s nothing to write home about. The afternoon gets bigger, 5 ft, but the wind picks up to 16 mph and it’s still cross-off. It’s a bit more grunty, but still very ordinary. If you’re desperate, Friday morning is your best bet.

After that, it gets worse. Saturday the 12th drops off, and Sunday the 13th brings a bit of a bump in the afternoon – 4 ft from the ESE with a 12-second period, giving it a bit of groundswell feel. The energy is strong at 424, but the wind is howling at 19 mph from the NNE, making it messy. This is expert territory, and even then, it’s not clean.

From Monday the 14th onward, it’s a full-on storm show. The swell gets huge, up to 12 ft on the 16th, but it’s all short-period, onshore junk. The energy readings are massive (over 2000 on the 14th and 16th), but the wind is brutal – 22 to 28 mph cross and cross-onshore. This is not surfable for a paddle surfer. For the kite surfers out there, the setup on the 14th through the 16th with that strong cross-shore wind and big, messy swell might be interesting, but for a standard surfer, stay on the beach.

There’s a gap of nothing from the 17th to the 19th, with some tiny swell returning on the 19th and 20th, but it’s all onshore, weak, and forgettable. Honestly, the best advice I can give for Big Wave Bay is to wait. The near-term is poor, the long-range is a stormy mess. It’s not your time.

Rusty.

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