Dumbea Rights Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here, and I’ve been staring at the charts for Dumbea Rights. This is a reef set-up, and it's a pretty advanced wave, so keep that in mind. The water temp is sitting at 73°F, which is about average for this time of year, so nothing wild there.

The next couple of weeks are a bit of a mixed bag, to be honest. We’ve got a solid run of swell coming, but the wind is going to be a real pain for most of it. The first real action starts on the afternoon of Thursday the 20th of August. We’re looking at a 5ft SE swell with a period of 9 seconds, but the wind is a fresh cross-offshore from the east at 19 mph. The combined energy is moderate at 847. It’s surfable, but it’s only a 1/10 on the score, so expectations should be low – marginal conditions.

The whole weekend and into Monday the 24th is a write-off. We’ve got a mix of 4ft to 6ft swell, but it’s mostly short-period SE windswell, and the wind is howling at 19-25 mph. It’s just poor surf conditions, day after day. You’ll be fighting the wind more than the wave.

Now, look here. Tuesday the 25th of August is where it gets interesting. We’ve got a proper groundswell showing up. The swell jumps to 6ft from the SSW with a very long period of 16 seconds. That’s a big, powerful, long-period groundswell, and the combined energy is a strong 1826. This is a standout. The reef at Dumbea Rights is exactly where you want to be for this kind of swell. The only catch is the wind is still a fresh cross-offshore from the east at 22 mph. It’s still labeled as marginal, but this is the best size and quality of the window. Wednesday morning the 26th holds similar energy at 1060 with the swell dropping slightly to 5ft, but the wind is a bit lighter at 16 mph.

Things start to clean up significantly by Thursday the 27th of August. The wind drops right out, with a slight air from the SE at only 3 mph, making it a light cross-shore. The swell is 4ft from the SSW with a 15-second period. That’s clean, lined-up, and very surfable. The afternoon of the 27th is even better, with a light breeze from the east at 6 mph creating glassy, clean conditions. This is your other standout for quality, even if the size is smaller.

The first week of September sees the energy drop off hard. We’re into 2ft to 2ft swells, weak energy (100-228), and the wind is either onshore or cross-shore. By Friday the 4th of September, the combined energy is down to 61. It’s essentially flat and poor. A long gap of nothing worthwhile.

So, to wrap it up: you’ve got two main windows. The big, powerful, long-period groundswell on Tuesday the 25th of August is your best bet for size and energy, but you’ll be dealing with wind. The cleanest, most user-friendly conditions will be on the afternoon of Thursday the 27th of August, when the wind goes glassy. Don’t bother with the rest.

Rusty.

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