Clifton Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, this is Rusty. Let’s get into it for Clifton Beach.

We’ve got a bit of a slow start and then a real tease of some proper SSW groundswell mid-week. The first real call to paddle out hits on Thursday the 16th. Morning is your best bet with a clean 4ft SSW groundswell rolling in at a juicy 16 seconds. The combined wave energy is solid (939). Winds are light offshore from the NNW, so expect clean faces. It’s a fairly consistent break, but keep an eye out because crowds can be around. The water temp is about what you’d expect for this time of year.

Thursday afternoon goes glassy as the swell drops a touch to 4ft, but the period stays long at 15 seconds. Energy is still good (597). It’ll be clean and inviting. That afternoon session will be worth it if you can get out of work.

Friday the 17th keeps the goods coming. Morning is another standout: 4ft SSW swell with a very long 17-second period. Combined energy is 888. Moderate offshore breeze from the NNW, so it’s going to be nicely groomed. This is the pick of the first few days. That long period means the waves will have plenty of punch and shape, but be aware, at a beach break, that long period can make them a little straight. Still, it’s clean and the quality is high.

Friday afternoon drops to 3ft, still with clean conditions, just a bit smaller.

Saturday the 18th sees the swell drop and the conditions get a bit messy with cross-off winds. Not the best, but still surfable if you’re desperate for a paddle.

Things go quiet from Sunday the 19th right through to Wednesday the 23rd. We’re looking at four or five days of weak, small waves with combined energy barely cracking 100. It’s ordinary, flat-ish, and not worth getting wet for unless you just want a float.

Then Thursday the 23rd afternoon shows a flicker of hope with a 3ft SSW swell coming back, energy at 273, and clean conditions. It’s something.

Now, here’s the big one, but with a heavy caveat. On Friday the 24th, we get pumped by a significant SSW groundswell hitting 5ft with a 16-second period. The energy jumps to a massive 1572. It’s got serious grunt. However, it’s blowing a fresh cross-shore wind from the W at 19 mph, and there are rain showers. The conditions are going to be lumpy and choppy. This is more of a kite surfing day than a clean paddle surfing day unless you’re a local expert who doesn’t mind the mess. Saturday the 25th is even worse with fresh cross-onshore winds. Skip it.

After that stormy mess, Sunday the 26th and Monday the 27th clean up nicely. Sunday afternoon has clean 3ft SSW swell (energy 347) with a light cross-off wind. It’s a good recovery day. Monday the 27th morning looks really clean again with a moderate offshore breeze and 4ft SSW swell at 14 seconds (energy 594). That’s a solid session.

The rest of the run into the end of July (29th and 30th) shows gradually fading, smaller SSW swell with clean conditions, but nothing to write home about. The energy dips below 300 and the period shortens.

So, the true standouts across this whole 16-day stretch are Thursday morning the 16th and Friday morning the 17th. Friday the 17th is the absolute winner for cleaner, powerful surf. The second-week highlight, if you can be patient, is Monday the 27th morning.

Stay stoked, and read the conditions before you paddle out. This is Rusty, signing off.

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