Dracula Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here, and I’ve been staring at this forecast for Dracula all afternoon. It’s a tough one to be honest with you. This reef break is exposed to the west, and the optimum swell direction is from the west, so it *wants* to be good. But across the whole 16-day window, the swell is almost never coming from the right direction. It’s coming from the NNW, which is not what this spot needs to line up properly. And to make matters worse, the wind is locked in from that same northerly quarter, so it's cross-on or cross-shore for nearly every session, which is just messy.

The water temp is sitting at 71°, with the anomaly being only half a degree – so it’s totally normal for the time of year, nothing out of the ordinary there.

The first real chance for anything decent comes on the night of Sunday, 24th August, into Monday morning, 25th August. The swell bumps up to 7ft from the NNW, and the combined energy jumps right up to 710 (moderate energy). But it’s a cross-shore wind from the north, just 3 mph, so the surface is clean. The period is only 8 seconds, so it’s a short-period windswell, which won't have the real punch of a groundswell, but 7ft in clean conditions at a reef is worth a look. It’s going to be too big for beginners, but for experienced surfers it’s the best on offer. The catch is that with a north wind creating cross-shore conditions, it might not be totally lined up, but it’s still the standout.

Before that, the first week is pretty much a write-off. From Sunday 16th August right through to about the 23rd, the surf is small, between 3ft and 4ft, with the combined energy rarely breaking 200 (weak energy). The wind is cross-on and choppy almost constantly, so you’d be fighting it all day. Not worth paddling out for.

Later in the period, there are some mornings with glassy conditions and clean surfaces, like the morning of Thursday, 27th August, and the morning of Monday, 31st August. On Thursday the 27th, the waves are only 4ft with a 7-second period, so very ordinary, but at least it’s flat calm. Same story on the 31st – 4ft, 8-second period, glassy. It’s surfable, but nothing to get excited about.

So, if you’re an experienced surfer and you want the biggest, most powerful conditions, you’re looking at Monday morning, 25th August. 7ft, clean, with moderate energy. That’s your window. Everything else is a gamble with the wind or just too small. It’s a bit of a dry spell for Dracula, but that one morning might just be worth the wait.

Rusty.

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