Bird Rock Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Righto, Rusty here. Let’s have a yarn about the next couple of weeks at Bird Rock.

The outlook starts off pretty quiet, but there’s a definite pulse of proper swell building towards the end of the first week and into the second. The early days look like a write-off for a decent session—Sunday and Monday have some swell, but the winds are up and the conditions are just marginal. You’ll be battling a moderate to fresh breeze for those first few days, so I’d give them a miss. Tuesday the 4th sees a bit of a pickup with a 6ft groundswell from the SW (period 12 seconds) and a clean offshore wind from the WNW on the morning session. The water temp is sitting at 56°, which is pretty much average for this time of year. It’s not a standout, but it’s the first real glimpse of clean surf.

Wednesday the 5th drops right back off to small 3ft waves, and Thursday is even smaller at 2ft. A couple of those afternoons are glassy or clean, but there’s just not enough push. However, keep your eyes peeled for Friday the 7th. The morning has a clean 4ft SW groundswell with an offshore breeze, and then Friday afternoon turns glassy with light winds and a clean 3ft SW swell. That’s a proper little window of fun, clean waves. The combined energy is moderate (734 and 681), and with glassy conditions, that afternoon session on the 7th is a real highlight for the first week.

The big talk of the outlook though is what’s coming on Monday the 10th of August. A massive pulse of WSW swell rolls in, hitting 12ft in the morning and a whopping 18ft by the afternoon (combined energy of 9355 and 17524). This is serious, powerful, groundswell. The afternoon session on the 10th is flagged as too big for this reef break—only for absolute experts, and even then, caution is the word. The morning of the 11th sees it drop to a still-chunky 8ft SW swell with a 16-second period and clean conditions, and that’s a standout for experienced surfers. The combined energy is still very strong (2694). The winds are light to glassy, so the quality will be there for those who can handle it.

After that pulse, the waves stay solid through to the middle of the second week. Friday the 14th is another standout: 8ft SW swell, 16-second period, offshore wind from the NW, and clean conditions both morning and afternoon. The energy readings are impressive (3874 and 3654). That’s a day for the experienced crew to circle. The weekend of the 15th and 16th sees the swell drop back under 8ft, but the wind turns nasty—strong cross-shore and lumpy chop from Sunday onward, so the quality falls away fast. From the 16th through to the end of the outlook, it’s messy and not worth your time.

So, if I’m calling it: Friday the 7th afternoon for some clean, glassy fun, and then the morning of Tuesday the 11th or Friday the 14th for the bigger, more powerful groundswell. Those are the real gems. The early days are mostly a wait, but the pulse in the second week delivers.

Rusty.

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