Dracula Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Hey mates, Rusty here. Let's break down the Dracula (reef) outlook. It starts quiet, but there are some killer windows later in the period worth a look.

The early days are pretty average. Tuesday the 11th has a small 4ft NNW swell with a short period of 7 seconds. The energy's weak (167) and the conditions are glassy, so there's a bit of a wave, but it's nothing to get excited about. The afternoons get hammered by a 16 mph NNW cross-shore wind, making it messy. Wednesday and Thursday are similar - a glassy morning followed by afternoon chop. The swell holds around 4ft to 5ft, with energy climbing from 176 to 261, but the wind wrecks it.

There's a long gap from the afternoon of the 15th through to the morning of the 19th where conditions are consistently poor to marginal. The swell stays in the 4ft to 6ft range, but the wind is either moderate cross-shore or cross-onshore, making for choppy, messy waves. The 16th and the 18th are especially rough.

Here's the good stuff. On Wednesday morning the 19th, we finally get a decent setup. The swell is 4ft from the NNW with a longer period of 9 seconds, bumping the energy to 252. The winner is the wind: glassy at 3 mph from the NW. That's clean, perfect conditions for the reef. This is the first real standout. The water temp is about average for the time of year.

The next big one is on Saturday morning the 22nd. The swell jumps to 7ft from the NNW with an 8-second period and strong energy (699). It's a serious size, only for the experts. The morning wind is a light 6 mph from the north, keeping it cross-shore.

The gem, the absolute standout of the 16 days, is Sunday morning the 23rd of August. The swell sits at a solid 6ft from the NNW, with an 8-second period. The combined energy is 523. And the wind? Glassy. Dead calm from the SSE at just 3 mph. That's a rare clean, glassy morning with overhead surf on the reef. Circle this one. Dracula can draw a crowd though, so expect some company.

The following morning, Monday the 24th, also looks excellent. The swell drops to 4ft, but it's a longer-period groundswell at 10 seconds, pushing energy to 556. The wind is a light 3 mph cross-offshore from the SSE. It'll be clean with long lines. Tuesday the 25th sees another solid pulse of 7ft NNW swell (975 energy) with glassy NW winds in the morning. Only for the experienced crew, but it's going to be pumping.

The period ends on the 26th with a 8ft swell (862 energy) but it's cross-onshore, so it'll be lumpy.

Bottom line: save your energy for the glassy mornings of Wednesday the 19th, and absolutely don't miss Sunday the 23rd and Monday the 24th of August. That's the best this stretch has to offer.

Rusty.

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