Donuts Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s coming up at Donuts.

Right off the bat, I gotta be straight with you – the next week and a half is looking pretty flat and frustrating. Donuts is a sheltered reef break that’s inconsistent at the best of times, and for the first 11 days of this forecast window, we’re stuck with a persistent, weak SW swell around 3ft, with period hanging around 14-16 seconds. That’s a long period groundswell, which is typically good for a reef like this, but the energy is just not there. The combined energy (557) is moderate at best, and the wind is almost always cross or cross-onshore, making for a choppy, messy surface. The water temp is sitting at 69°, which is a touch warmer than normal for this time of year, so at least it’s not chilly.

We’ve got a long gap of poor surf conditions here. Nothing is worth paddling out for from Wednesday the 8th of July through to Saturday the 18th of July. The small swell and poor winds just aren’t giving us a clean wave.

Now, things start to look a little more promising around Sunday the 19th of July. The swell picks up to 4ft to 5ft from the S, with a solid 16-second period. The combined energy jumps right up to 1071, which is a strong pulse of energy. The wind is a light cross-shore, so the surf will be a bit cleaner than what we’ve had. We’re still looking at marginal surf, but this is the best we’ve seen. It’s not a standout for the masses, but if you’re keen for a session, Sunday afternoon might offer a few clean ones.

The real standout, and the only one I’d call a true highlight, is Monday the 20th of July. We’ve got 6ft of SSW swell, with a 14-second period. The combined energy is very strong at 1153. The morning has light, cross-onshore wind, so it won’t be perfect, but that’s a lot of water moving. This is getting into the “big for beginners” territory, so only intermediate and above should be out there. The reef bottom will handle this long-period swell well, but keep in mind that a 6ft wave on a reef can be a bit of a handful. The afternoon is a no-go with onshore winds.

After that, the swell backs off again through the rest of the window, dropping back to 3ft with cross-onshore winds, so that Monday morning is the main event.

So, to sum it up: a long, flat first week, then a little window of hope on the 19th and especially the morning of the 20th of July. If you can wait, that Monday morning is your best bet, but don’t expect perfection.

Rusty.

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