Brighton Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s be straight with you – this is a tough one for the Brighton area. The next couple of weeks are looking pretty grim for paddle surfing, and I’m not going to sugarcoat it.

To be honest, there’s a real dry spell on the cards. From now through the 21st of July, the surf is tiny and mostly unrideable. We’re talking about a stretch of over a week with barely a bump, and what little shows up is weak, with combined energy readings often in the single digits (2 to 4 in the early days). The wind is mostly cross or cross-off, which would be great if there was any swell to work with, but there just isn’t. The water temperature is sitting at 68°F right now, which is a whopping 8°F warmer than usual for this time of year – that’s incredibly unusual and feels more like a late summer bath than a mid-July sea.

The first real glimmer of hope doesn’t arrive until Saturday the 18th. You’ll see a small pulse of west swell, with a 2ft wave in the morning under a clean offshore breeze from the north. But the energy is still low at 10, and the period is a short 4 seconds, so it’s more of a wobbly mess than a proper wave. The afternoon pushes up to 4ft from the WSW with a 5-second period, and the combined energy jumps to 56. That’s the best reading in the whole outlook, but it’s still labelled “poor surf conditions.” The wind is a light cross-off from the NE, so it’ll be clean, but that short period means it’s going to be fat and crumbly – maybe a fun session for a longboard if you’re desperate, but not a standout by any measure.

Wednesday the 22nd sees the biggest swell height of the period, with 5ft from the WSW by the afternoon. The combined energy hits 171, which is moderate. But here’s the catch: the wind swings to a cross-on from the SE, making it choppy and bumpy. With swell over 5ft and that messy wind, it’s really only for the experienced crew, and even then, the quality is poor. Brighton is a beach and pier setup, so with a short period (6 seconds) and cross-on wind, it’s going to be a battle. Honestly, if you’re into kiteboarding, that afternoon might be more interesting than paddle surfing.

After that, the swell drops back down into the 2ft to 3ft range with weak energy and cross or cross-on winds right through to the end of the 25th. There’s no true standout in this entire 16-day window. The closest thing to a recommendation would be the Saturday the 18th afternoon session if you’re on a longboard and just want to paddle around, or the Wednesday the 22nd morning for the bigger, cleaner waves before the wind ruins it. But I wouldn’t book time off work for either.

It’s a quiet run for Brighton. Sometimes that’s just how it goes in this part of the world. Keep an eye on the charts, but for now, maybe dust off the skateboard or the kite.

Rusty.

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