Castles Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s on the menu at Castles over the next couple of weeks.

Well, the start of this outlook is a bit of a write-off, to be honest. We’ve got a serious pulse of SW groundswell coming in, but the wind is just howling onshore. Sunday the 12th kicks off with a solid 8ft SW swell (2903 combined energy), but it’s getting hammered by a 19 mph W wind. The water temp is sitting at 61°, which is about average for the time of year, but it might as well be a washing machine in there. Not one for the paddle.

Monday the 13th is more of the same bad news – the swell actually builds to 8ft and even 10ft, with a really long 16-second period. That’s proper groundswell, but it’s all cross-on and onshore wind. At over 5ft, this is already too much for beginners, and with the chop, it’s only going to appeal to someone looking for punishment.

The first real light in the tunnel comes Wednesday morning the 15th. The swell drops to a much more manageable 5ft from the SW, still with a nice 15-second period. That’s the kind of groundswell that can offer some real shape at a reef like Castles. The magic is the wind: a light 9 mph ENE breeze that’s offshore. The water will be glassy and clean. Conditions are rated excellent for experienced surfers. This is our first standout – Wednesday morning is the one to circle.

Thursday the 16th and Friday the 17th still have some fun, clean conditions with cross-off winds, but the swell steadily drops from 4ft down to 4ft. The energy is weakening (664 down to 555), so it’s getting smaller and more marginal. Still rideable, but nothing to write home about compared to Wednesday.

After that, we hit a dry spell. Saturday the 18th has tiny 3ft swell with a strong 19 mph N wind – that’s just a blown-out mess. Sunday the 19th looks a bit more promising in size (5ft) but the wind is onshore again. Not much for the surfer there.

We get another brief flicker of hope on Monday the 20th with a clean 4ft swell and light NNE winds, and again on Tuesday the 21st with a 5ft swell and a 13-second period with offshore E wind. The energy is moderate (683), and the conditions are rated very good. That Tuesday morning is a solid, reliable window for a clean, if not huge, session.

Past that, the outlook gets messy. A big lump of wind and swell hits around Wednesday the 22nd and Thursday the 23rd brings a tiny glassy 3ft swell with SE wind – calm, but small. The biggest red flag is the final weekend: by Friday the 24th and Saturday the 25th, we’re looking at 8ft to 10ft of SW swell again, but with onshore and cross-on winds over 12 mph. That’s a full-on closeout situation for anyone but the most die-hard experts, if even them.

For the last few days, the swell fades, but the wind stays onshore or cross. Not much to get excited about.

So to wrap it up: the standout is undeniably Wednesday morning the 15th for clean, solid groundswell. Tuesday the 21st is your backup for a clean, smaller session. Everything else has a lot of wind and chop to fight through.

This is Rusty, signing off.

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