Castles Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Howdy, Rusty here. Let’s talk about what’s in the water.

To be honest, this is a pretty tough stretch. We’ve got a long, dry spell of nothing before anything worth paddling out for shows up. The first week and a half is mostly small, weak, short-period windswell with lousy onshore winds. The one real standout is Monday the 3rd of August. The second highlight is a clean but small window on the 11th. Everything else is a pass.

So here’s the breakdown.

Saturday the 1st and Sunday the 2nd are a total loss. Tiny 2ft swell from the SSE with a short period, and cross-onshore winds making it a choppy mess. Water temp is average for this time of year. Don’t bother.

Monday the 3rd of August is your best bet. The swell jumps to about 6ft from the SSE, with a combined energy of 392 (moderate). The morning is messy with cross-shore wind, but the afternoon is the window. The wind swings to a light 10 km/h from the NNE, going clean cross-offshore. The wave report says "expect good surf conditions." This is the one. The period is 8 seconds, so the waves will be a bit soft, but it’s the cleanest and most powerful surf of the whole outlook. It’s a bit much for beginners at 5ft, but for the rest of us, this is the call.

Tuesday the 4th through to the 10th is a grind. Small, onshore crud. Windswell with weak energy. A brief moment on the 8th (Saturday morning) has a light cross-offshore breeze and 4ft swell, but it’s still short-period and low energy. Barely surfable.

Monday the 11th and Tuesday the 12th show a slight improvement. The swell is small (3 to 4ft) from the S, but the period lifts to 7 seconds. The wind goes light and offshore or cross-offshore, giving us clean conditions. The energy is moderate (152 and 153). It’s not going to be a classic, but it’s the cleanest we’ve seen since that Monday the 3rd. Watch for crowds, as they can be around sometimes at Castles.

Wednesday the 13th through to Sunday the 16th is a sad finish. The swell drops back to knee-high slop. The last day, Sunday the 16th, shows a jump to 6ft from the ENE with a 10-second period, but the wind is cross-shore and the wave comment is still "poor surf conditions." The energy is high (511), but the direction is wrong and the wind is rubbish. A lot of energy with no quality.

So, the bottom line: Monday the 3rd of August, afternoon, is your best shot. Clean, moderate swell from the SSE at Castles. After that, the morning of Monday the 11th is a clean but small backup. The rest of the outlook is a waiting game.

Rusty, out.

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