Castles Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, I’m Rusty, and I’ve been staring at the charts for our local patch. We’ve got a solid run of surf shaping up, but it’s not all perfect. Let’s get into it.

We start off on Wednesday, 29 July, with a bit of a messy situation. The ocean is pushing a solid 8ft SW groundswell (combined energy 2896), but a cross wind from the S is blowing across it, making it grotty. The water’s at 60°, which is about average for this time of year. Thursday morning, 30 July, is where the first real standout comes in. The wind flicks around to the ENE, blowing off and clean, and the swell settles to a clean 5ft from the SW (13 seconds, 784 energy). The wave comment says “expect very good surf conditions.” That’s our window. Castles is a reef break, consistent, and it’s exposed to the SW swell—the direction it wants. The only catch is crowds can be a thing here sometimes, but that morning glass will be worth it. This is the best on offer early.

Friday, 31 July, hangs in there with clean cross-off winds and dropping swell—down to 3ft in the morning. It’s still surfable but nothing to howl about. Saturday, 1 August, turns into a windy mess. A strong N wind hits 25 mph, and though the swell gets a long period of 17 seconds, the combined energy hits 747, and the wind state is just dirty. Sunday, 2 August, is a write-off with cross-onshore winds and poor surf. That’s a gap of a couple of days.

Now, Monday, 3 August, is another standout. The morning is magic: a light ENE breeze at 3 mph, offshore, and the swell is a clean 5ft from the SW (14 seconds, 1077 energy). The forecast says “excellent surf conditions for experienced surfers.” That’s because 5ft being a bit solid for beginners, but for anyone who knows what they’re doing, it will be clean and lined up. A really good session.

After that, the week goes quiet. Tuesday, 4 August, the swell drops to 4ft, and the wind is messy. Wednesday, 5 August, picks up a bit with a long period 18-second swell, but the wind is fresh and cross-off, making it tricky. The energy is moderate (1053). It’s a maybe, but not a standout.

The second week is more of a promise than a certainty. Thursday, 6 August, afternoon has a big 5ft SW swell with a very long 21-second period (2228 energy) and clean cross-off winds. That’s a long period groundswell—it’ll be powerful, but at a beach or reef, it can break a bit straight. For Castles (reef), it could be a treat if the timing is right. Friday, 7 August, has a strong breeze (25 mph) making it ugly. Saturday, 8 August, and Sunday, 9 August, get big—10ft on Saturday (WSW, 10 seconds, 1578 energy) and 10ft again on Sunday (SW, 14 seconds, 3341 energy). But the wind is onshore or cross-onshore, so it’s blown out. That’s absolute expert-only territory if you’re brave, and honestly, it looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing. The energy is strong, but the quality is poor.

Monday, 10 August, stays big and messy with 8ft. Tuesday, 11 August, has a 6ft SW swell with a 19-second period (2310 energy) but cross winds. Wednesday, 12 August, has a near gale (34 mph) and rain. The final days, 12 and 13 August, are all onshore and poor.

So, the two standouts: Thursday morning, 30 July, for the clean glass and solid 5ft, and Monday morning, 3 August, for the same in excellent conditions. Keep your eyes on those.

Rusty.

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