Cactus Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let’s get into it.

Right off the bat, this forecast is a bit of a heartbreaker for the first week. The swell is there, but the wind is just trashing it day after day. We’re looking at a solid run of poor surf conditions pretty much from Sunday the 12th through to the middle of the week. The combined wave energy is moderate to strong, hitting 3143 on Sunday morning, but with a strong onshore wind from the west, it’s just a messy, choppy mess. Not worth paddling out.

Things start to show a glimmer of hope on Wednesday morning, the 15th. That’s when the wind finally swings offshore from the ENE at a light 6 mph. The swell is a clean 5 ft from the SW, with a period of 14 seconds – that’s proper groundswell. The energy is moderate (1092), and the conditions are described as clean. This is the standout for the early part of the forecast. Cactus (reef) is the break, and it’s fairly consistent. The water temperature is sitting at 60°, which is about 1° cooler than average for this time of year – nothing too wild, just a touch cool. Wednesday afternoon stays clean with a cross-offshore breeze, but the swell drops a little.

Thursday the 16th has a solid pulse in the afternoon – 5 ft of SW swell with a very long 18-second period. That’s a lot of energy for a reef break, and it’ll offer some nice, powerful lines. The wind is a light cross-offshore from the NNE, so it’ll be clean. This is another top pick for experienced surfers.

After that, the swell really fades. The weekend of the 18th and 19th is small and weak, with energy dropping to 180. The wind is still clean, but there’s just not enough push. A bit of a lull.

Then, on Monday the 20th, we get a real treat. The morning is glassy – I mean, dead flat calm with a SSE wind at just 3 mph. The swell is 6 ft from the SW, period of 16 seconds. That’s a beautiful combination. The energy is moderate (1519). This is the second standout of the entire forecast. If you can get out there that Monday morning, you’ll be rewarded with smooth, lined-up waves.

The rest of the second week turns ugly again. The wind picks up, and by the 24th and 25th, we’ve got a big, messy, blown-out swell. The 24th Friday morning has a huge spike in energy (4512), but it’s a 6 ft SW swell with a strong cross-onshore wind. That’s a no-go zone. The same story repeats until the end of the forecast period on the 27th, with near-gale force winds and a completely blown-out mess.

Bottom line: The absolute best windows are Wednesday morning the 15th and Monday morning the 20th. Both offer clean, glassy conditions with a decent groundswell at Cactus. The rest of the time, you’re fighting the wind. The surf will be too big and messy for beginners on most days, and for the experts, the windows are tight.

Rusty.

Read more