Costellos Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day surfers, Rusty here. We’ve got a sixteen-day window on the cards and, well, it’s a pretty bleak stretch for the most part. There’s hardly any surf to get excited about for the first eleven days, with only tiny, weak waves on offer. The real kicker is the lack of any decent swell energy, and most of the time the conditions just aren't coming together. We’re in for a long wait, so don’t bother paddling out until the very tail end of the forecast.

Right now, starting from Sunday the 12th of July, it’s flat and messy at Costellos – just 1.0 ft of weak SE swell with a period of 10 seconds, but a cross-on wind from the SSE at 12 mph makes it choppy and hopeless. The water temp is 67°, which is a touch warmer than average for this time of year. Through the whole of the first week and into the next, we’re looking at a string of days with swell heights barely scratching 1.0 ft to 2 ft, with combined wave energy values sitting in the teens and twenties – that’s a combined energy of about 20 to 30 (weak). It’s all just a whole lot of nothing. There are a few afternoons with offshore wind, like Tuesday the 14th of July afternoon with a clean 2 ft from the S, but the swell is too small to bother with.

Now, around Monday the 20th of July, there’s a spike in size – we see 7 ft on the Monday afternoon from the SSE, with the combined energy jumping to 297 (moderate). But don’t get your hopes up. The period is short at 6 seconds, it’s cross-on shore, and the whole thing looks like a crumbly, messy mess. That kind of size with that wind and period is more of a kiter’s playground than a surfer’s dream. It’s punchy but poor quality.

The best we can find in this entire outlook falls right at the end. On Thursday the 23rd of July afternoon, things finally clean up. We get 2 ft of swell from the ESE, with a 7-second period, and a clean offshore wind from the WNW at 9 mph. The combined wave energy is still modest at 78 (weak), but the conditions are described as “surfable waves but very ordinary conditions” with a score of 1. It’s not a standout by any stretch, but it’s the only window where you could potentially get a few clean little waves to yourself. This run continues through Friday the 24th and Saturday morning the 25th of July, with similar 2 ft to 2 ft swells from the E and clean cross-off winds. Crowds are ‘often’ at Costellos, so expect a few others waiting for the same crumbs.

Truth be told, there’s no real standout session here. The only half-decent call is the Thursday afternoon through Saturday morning window (23rd to 25th of July) at Costellos – a reef break that is inconsistent and rarely pumps, but with a clean offshore breeze and tiny but clean waves, it’s the best we’ve got. Swell is from the ESE to E, so small but lined up. For the most part, though? Leave the boards in the car and come back another week.

Rusty.

Read more