Depressions Surf Forecast and Surf Report

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

Right off the bat, I gotta be straight with you – this stretch is looking pretty flat and tricky. The water’s sitting at 64° with a touch warmer than normal anomaly, so it’s a bit on the mild side for this time of year, but that’s about the only notable thing. We’ve got a long gap of mostly poor surf and marginal conditions, so don’t get your hopes up for the early days.

We pick up on Wednesday, July 8th, with a 5 ft swell from the WNW, but the period’s a short 7 seconds and the wind is cross-on. Combined energy is moderate at 547, but honestly, the surf quality is just poor. That’s the story for the next few days – small, weak, and onshore. Thursday the 9th morning sees a WSW wind straight onshore, with a 4 ft WNW swell and a 9-second period – marginal at best. The afternoons are just as disappointing.

By Friday the 10th morning, we’re down to a 3 ft swell, and while the period holds at 9 seconds, the wind is still onshore. The afternoon sees a tiny 2 ft SSW swell but with a long 15-second period – that’s a groundswell, but it’s so small and the wind is on it, it’s barely surfable. The combined energy drops to 301 (weak). This pattern of small, poor surf continues right through the weekend.

Now, there is a glimmer on Sunday the 12th morning. The wind goes glassy, which is a major positive for clean conditions, but the swell is only 2 ft from the SSW with a 14-second period. Combined energy is a weak 246. It’s surfable but very ordinary – you’ll be on a longboard, scratching for little waist-high lines. The afternoon clouds up and the wind goes cross-on, so that window is tight.

The following week, from Monday the 13th through to Wednesday the 22nd, it’s a real struggle. We see a few pulses of 4 ft WNW swell on the 14th and 15th, but the wind is always onshore or cross-on, and the period never gets above 9 seconds. That 6 ft WNW on the afternoon of July 15th looks promising on paper, but with a 9-second period and cross-on wind, it’s just a messy, lumpy wave. Combined energy is 485 (moderate) but the quality is poor. Not worth paddling out for.

Around the 18th, the swell direction shifts to SW and then SSE, but the heights stay tiny – 2 ft to 3 ft. The one standout in this whole period is the afternoon of July 19th. We get a 3 ft SSE swell with a 16-second period, and combined energy jumps to 737 (moderate to strong). The wind is onshore from the SW, so it’s not clean, but the long period means there’s real energy in the water. The score is a 2 out of 10, which is the best of the run. If you’re desperate, this is your best bet, but it’s still only marginal.

The rest of the final week is more of the same – small, onshore, and poor. By the 23rd, we’re back to 2 ft SSW swells with 14-second periods, but the wind is onshore and it’s just not doing anything.

Bottom line: Depressions is going through a flat, windy spell. There’s no real standout session here. The best chance for a surf is that glassy Sunday morning the 12th, or the long-period SSE swell on the 19th, but both are very ordinary. Keep your expectations low, and maybe bring a kite if you’ve got one – the beach setup with these onshore winds and moderate energy might be more interesting for the kites than the paddle crew.

Rusty.

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