Donuts Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Right then, let’s talk about Donuts. To be straight with you, this 16-day window is a tough one. We’ve got a consistent source of groundswell rolling in, but the conditions are just not playing ball for most of it. The tide, the wind, it’s all off. You’ll be watching a lot of clean lines with a chop on them, or just messy, weak waves. There’s a few bright spots, but you’ll have to be patient.

The water’s sitting at 71°, which is much warmer than usual for this time of year – that’s a nice surprise.

Let’s start with the first swell. Monday the 20th through Wednesday the 23rd sees a long-period SW groundswell (15-16s) pushing in at around 3 ft to 4 ft. The combined energy is moderate, ranging from 546 to 789. But the wind is onshore or cross-onshore, killing the quality. It’s frustrating because the swell’s there, but it’s just messy.

Thursday the 24th morning shows a little more energy (1175) with a 4 ft SSW swell, but again, onshore wind. The afternoon cleans up slightly with a light breeze, but it’s still marginal.

The weekend of the 26th and 27th brings a very long-period SW groundswell – we’re talking 18 to 21 seconds. That’s a lot of energy in the water (combined energy 956 to 1337), and the swell is around 3 ft to 4 ft. On Sunday the 26th, we finally get a window of clean, offshore wind from the W. That’s the first real standout. The waves will be lining up, but with that long period, it’s going to be a bit too straight for the beachies. This is a reef break though, so it should handle it nicely. It’s inconsistent here, so you’ll be waiting for sets, but the ones that come will be beautiful. Keep an eye out for crowds, they can show up sometimes.

Now, into the second week, things get more unpredictable. The end of July and the first few days of August are mostly onshore winds and small, weak swell. There’s a pulse of S swell around 4 ft to 5 ft on the 4th of August, with moderate energy (1166), but the wind is cross-onshore. It’s not a write-off, but it’s more of a gamble.

The best bet in the whole forecast is that Sunday the 26th of July. The morning has that nice offshore wind, a solid 3 ft of very long-period SW groundswell, and the reef should focus it up. It won’t be pumping all day, but those few hours will be worth it. The other possible call is the morning of Monday the 27th, with a bit more size (4 ft) and cross-shore wind, but it’s not as clean.

If you’re a beginner, most of this is too inconsistent or messy. The bigger stuff on the 24th and 27th might be pushing 4 ft, which is a bit much. And that 5 ft to 5 ft on the 31st of July is going to be a choppy mess – only for the experienced, and even then, the wind is terrible.

Honestly, it’s a quiet run. The consistency is just not there. But that Sunday morning is a gem. Keep your eyes on it.

Rusty.

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