Dondra Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, this is Rusty comin' at ya from the lineup. Let's get stuck into this one.

We're looking at a 16-day window for Dondra, and to be honest, it's a bit of a mixed bag. The overall pattern is one of persistent, moderate to fresh cross-offshore winds blowing from the west. The swell is on the small side for the most part, with a few pulses of bigger, shorter-period stuff later on. The main takeaway is that the surf is consistently described as "marginal" with low scores. The wind, while cross-off, is a bit too strong for perfect glass, keeping things a little lumpy.

The first real chance to get wet comes on Tuesday, the 28th of July. You're looking at a 3.3ft swell from the SE with a 10-second period, but the real energy is modest at 407. The water temperature is a comfortable 82.6°, which is about 0.9° warmer than average for this time of year, so it's pretty standard for the tropics. The wind is a Moderate breeze at 15 mph from the W, making it cross-off, so the wave faces will be clean, but the surface will have a bit of texture.

The standout swell in the first week looks to be late on Friday, the 31st of July. The afternoon session picks up to 3.9ft from the SSW with a long 18-second period, pushing a solid 1280 combined energy. That's a decent groundswell pulse. The wind backs off slightly to 12 mph from the WNW, still cross-off. This is your best bet for the first week. The long period will mean longer waits between sets, but the waves will have more shape and power. It's a reef break, so that long-period energy will wrap in nicely.

After that, the weekend of the 1st and 2nd of August sees the swell holding around 4.3ft, but the wind picks back up to a Fresh breeze, making it less inviting. The tide turns on Sunday, the 2nd, with a bump to 7.9ft from the W, but the period drops to just 8 seconds. That's a short-period, wind-driven swell that will be a bit lumpy and less powerful for a reef. At over 7.9ft, this is getting into more expert territory.

The second week of the forecast is a bit of a blur. From the 3rd of August onwards, the wind stays strong at 18-22 mph from the W or WNW. The swell fluctuates between 3.3ft and 7.2ft, mostly from the SSW, with some decent periods in the 14-20 second range. The energy figures are high, hitting 2915 on the 9th of August, but the constant wind chop will keep the quality down. The biggest wave days around the 8th and 9th of August with 5.9ft to 7.2ft are only for the experienced crew in those conditions.

For a standout in the second week, keep an eye on Friday, the 7th of August. The afternoon shows a 5.2ft swell from the S with a 14-second period and a massive 2322 energy. It's still a gamble with the wind, but that's the most promising looking pulse in the later part of the run.

Crowds at Dondra can be a thing sometimes, so don't expect a total solo session. But given the persistent wind and marginal quality, it might keep the crowds down.

Overall, the pick of the week is the Friday afternoon session on the 31st of July. It's the best combo of decent size, good long period, and the lightest winds. The rest of the 16 days looks like a grind with the wind, but that one window is worth checking out.

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