Caves (Sandsend) Surf Forecast and Surf Report

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

To be straight with you, the outlook is a quiet one. The finder only flags up Caves (Sandsend) as a potential spot, but the truth is, the entire 16-day window is a bust. From now through to the 7th of August, there is not a single session worth paddling out for. Every single time slot is marked as "poor surf conditions." That’s a long stretch of flatness and small, weak, messy energy.

The first few days are particularly grim. On Thursday the 23rd and Friday the 24th, we're looking at waves barely scraping 2 ft to 3 ft. The swell is coming from the NNE, but it’s a short-period, weak windswell with a period of just 6 seconds. The combined energy is pathetic (57 max). Wind is a problem too, with cross-on and onshore flow on Thursday, though Friday afternoon does go glassy – but it’s glassy on a 2 ft wave that has no push. It’s just not surfable.

The weekend doesn't get any better. Saturday the 25th has a strong offshore wind (22 mph), but the swell drops to an absolute dribble of 0.7 ft. The energy is a mere 8. That’s a day for the kite surfers if they’re desperate, not for a paddle surfer.

We do see a slight bump in energy on Monday the 27th, where the combined energy hits 124 (moderate), and the swell pushes to 3 ft with a period of 8 seconds. The wind is cross-offshore from the NW in the morning, so it’s clean. But the wave comment is still "poor surf conditions." The swell is just too weak and inconsistent to form a proper wave at this point break.

The rest of the first week and into the second is a repeat of this story: tiny waves, short periods, and mostly unfavourable winds. Even on the 31st of July, when the afternoon swell bumps to 4 ft, the period is a pathetic 5 seconds and the wind is onshore. It’s just a messy, bumpy close-out.

The final week into early August is more of the same. There is no standout, no window of opportunity. Caves is a point break that needs a decent, clean swell to work, and it just isn’t getting it. The optimum direction is from the North, and the swell does come from that direction occasionally, but it has zero size or power.

For water temp, the first record shows 60°F, which is about normal for this time of year.

So, the honest call here is: don’t bother. The next 16 days are a total write-off for surf at Caves (Sandsend). It’s a blank run. Sometimes that’s just how it goes in this area. The forecast can change, but right now, there’s nothing to get excited about.

Stay patient, Rusty.

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