Conto Springs Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. We’ve got a solid run of south-west groundswell ahead at Conto Springs (reef). The pattern starts this Sunday (12 July) and pushes through the week with serious size, but the wind is the main talking point, so we’ll take it session by session. Things get a bit wild toward the end, but there are a couple of real standouts if you pick your moments.

This Sunday morning kicks off with a 10ft swell from the SW, period of 14 seconds, and combined wave energy sitting at 5800 (moderate). Cloudy with a 9 mph cross-shore breeze means a bit of a bump, but it’s rideable for intermediates. By Sunday afternoon, the swell jumps to 13ft, the period hits 18 seconds – that’s a proper long-period groundswell – and the energy cranks to 9126 (moderate-to-strong). The wind is still cross at 9 mph, so it’s a bit textured but has serious grunt. This reef handles long-period swell well, expect long lulls between big sets.

Monday (13 July) sees a 11ft swell holding, still from the SW, period dropping slightly to 16 seconds. Morning energy is 7053 (moderate) and the wind’s light at 6 mph cross-shore, so small ripples but nothing nasty. Afternoon stays similar, energy drops to 5497, still cross-shore light breeze. Solid, fairly clean surf for the confident intermediate.

Tuesday (14 July) is where it gets interesting. Morning is 10ft SW, period 15 seconds, energy 3797 (moderate) with a light NNE breeze at 3 mph, still cross-shore. But Tuesday afternoon – clear skies, glassy wind from the NNW at 3 mph – that’s a corker. Same 10ft SW swell, period 14 seconds, energy 3306. The text calls it excellent for experienced surfers, and with glass and a reef setup, this is the standout of the first week. Not for beginners at this size, but for you boys and girls who can handle it, it’s clean. This is your best on offer early on.

Wednesday (15 July) falls apart. Morning has a 22 mph cross-onshore from the north, lumpy, messy – and the scores are zero. Swell’s 6ft SW with a 17-second period, but wind kills it. Afternoon’s not much better with 19 mph onshore and rain squalls. This pattern sticks through Thursday, Friday and into Saturday (18 July) with strong onshores and rain. Thursday morning sees 10ft WSW swell with 19-25 mph onshore wind – zero. Friday stays poor. Saturday morning (18 July) actually has a huge 16ft SW groundswell, 18-second period, and wave energy of 14652 (very strong), but with 25 mph cross-shore and mess, it’s not paddle-surfable. Honestly, this stretch from Wednesday through Saturday looks more interesting for kite surfing than a proper surf.

Saturday afternoon (18 July) the wind drops to 19 mph cross-shore, still lumpy, but energy is 12450 (strong). Marginal at best.

Now, Sunday (19 July) morning is a 13ft SW swell, 14-second period, light SW wind at 3 mph, cross-shore. Still a bit of wind ripple, but a step up. Then Sunday afternoon – clear, glassy, zero wind. 11ft SW swell, 13-second period, energy 3718 (moderate). Again, the text says excellent for experienced surfers. Glassy conditions on an 11ft reef break? That’s a second standout, and it’s only a week out (19 July). Mark it.

Monday (20 July) cleans up with 10ft SW swell, 11-second period (shorter period, so less wait between sets), and a 12 mph cross-offshore from the east. Energy is 1939 (weak-to-moderate). Clean conditions, smaller, more manageable. Tuesday (21 July) stays similar but wind picks to 22 mph cross-offshore from the east – still clean but breezy.

Then Wednesday (22 July) – now we’re looking at a big pulse. 18ft SW, 17-second period, energy 17301 (very strong) in the morning, with a 12 mph cross-offshore from the ENE. The data flags this as too big for the break, and with these numbers, that’s expert-only, and even then, it’s pushing limits. Afternoon sits on 18ft, light cross-shore. Not for the faint-hearted.

From Thursday (23 July) to Friday (24 July), we’re back into strong onshores (25-34 mph

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