City Beach groyne Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Let’s get into it. The only break on the map for this stretch is City Beach groyne (Big Island), and it’s going to be a run of punchy west-southwest groundswell, but wind and size will be calling the shots.

Water temp is sitting at about 62°, which is a good 5° below the norm for this time of year—bring the thick suit.

We start on Saturday the 1st with a 8ft WSW swell at 14 seconds, but that south cross-breeze is going to ruffle it up—not worth the paddle. Sunday the 2nd is where it starts to clean up. The ENE cross-off in the morning, easing to a light NE by afternoon, has the 6ft and 6ft swell looking clean and lined up. That’s your first good window, especially the afternoon glass-off. The energy’s strong too—1362 and 1127 in the combined swell energy.

Monday the 3rd is a drop-off—smaller 4ft with a north cross-breeze, and it doesn’t hold together. Tuesday the 4th sees it jump back up with 6ft to 7ft, but it’s onshore from the WSW and messy. Not your day.

Wednesday the 5th has more size—8ft in the morning, pushing to 10ft by afternoon with the swell period holding at 16 seconds. That’s a lot of water moving, and the energy readings are way up there (2620 and 4051). But it’s a beach/groyne setup, so that long-period groundswell might be breaking a bit straight. The morning cross-shore is workable, but the afternoon onshore isn’t great. Thursday the 6th is similar—8ft in the morning, light cross breeze, but still a bit unruly. Big, but not clean.

Then it gets serious. Friday the 7th through Sunday the 9th we’ve got serious size—12ft building to 15ft and even 16ft by Saturday the 8th. That’s way too much for this stretch, and the wind is up too—near gale on Saturday morning. There’s a lot of energy in the water (8873 on that Saturday afternoon), but it’s only for the brave, and honestly, it’s more of a kite-surfing show than a paddle-surfing one. The swell direction is still WSW, but the period drops into the 11-13 second range, adding to the chaos.

Monday the 10th through Thursday the 13th is a mess. Swell stays in the 7ft to 12ft range, but it’s onshore, rainy, and blown out. No good.

Now, here’s the light at the end of the tunnel. Friday the 14th, early. That ENE cross-off breeze is back, and we’ve got a solid 8ft WSW groundswell with a 17-second period. The combined energy is pumping at 4274, and for once the wind is offshore enough to hold the face together. This is the standout—clean, powerful, and the tide should be right. It’s going to be a proper session, but it’s a big one, so this is for experienced surfers only. You’ll want a step-up board. The afternoon drops back to a lighter onshore, but the morning is the window.

After that, the week runs out of steam. Saturday the 15th and Sunday the 16th are back to smaller, onshore slop—6ft to 7ft with cross-onshore wind. Nothing to get excited about.

So, if you’re picking your moment, Sunday the 2nd afternoon and Friday the 14th morning are your best bets. The Friday one is the real gem if you’ve got the skills and the nerve. Everything else is either too small, too messy, or too big for this groyne.

Keep it salty.

Rusty

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