Donuts Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Gutted, folks. I’ve been staring at the charts for the next two and a half weeks and it’s a proper flat spell for us here at Donuts (reef). The guidance has zero on offer – nothing that even gets a nod for a paddle. The whole 16-day window is one long, frustrating gap with no recommendations. The swell is small, the winds are mostly onshore or cross-onshore, and the call is just “poor surf conditions” every single session. It's one of those blank runs that happens in this area, and it’s a tough one to swallow.

We start the run on Thursday the 13th, and it’s a familiar story: a modest 2.3ft SW groundswell, but with a 16-second period and light cross-onshore breeze, it’s just not doing anything for us. The wave energy is weak, sitting around 328. This pattern barely shifts for days. Friday the 14th sees a touch more energy (498-509) but the wave height drops to 2ft, and the wind is still on it. Saturday the 15th pushes up to 3.6ft later in the day with energy nudging into the moderate zone (603), but the cross-onshore wind turns it into a choppy mess. The rest of the first week into the start of the second is the same sort of tease – 2.6ft here, 2.3ft there – but never any quality. The period does climb back to 17-18 seconds on Monday the 24th and Tuesday the 25th, but the swell size just isn't there to make it worthwhile.

For the rare few of you who are still keen after all this, the main takeaway is this: we’re waiting on a pulse of energy on the 23rd. The Sunday morning shows a 1.6ft swell with a 19-second period and 305 energy, which is about as long-period as it gets. That’s a proper groundswell, but it’s tiny. Long-period swells like that are best on points and reefs, and we’ve got a reef here, so if it fills in, it could be something. But right now, it’s just a whisper of a promise.

Honestly, if you’re desperate for a splash, the Saturday the 22nd afternoon looks like the most "interesting" – 2.3ft, 15 seconds, and 277 energy, but the wind is straight onshore. There’s nothing on the table that’s worth getting excited about. If the swell stayed this small and the wind kept blowing on it, the setup might be better for a kite than a surfboard. But it won’t stay poor forever – a couple of these patches have some consistency in the swell direction, so forecasts can easily change. Keep an eye on the charts, but don’t hold your breath.

Stay salty.

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