Dumbea Rights Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, mates, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what the ol’ ocean has in store for us over the next couple of weeks. It’s gonna be a bit of a mixed bag, so let’s get into it.

We’re starting off a bit slow. The next few days are looking pretty grim, to be honest. The wind is all over the place, mostly cross-onshore and the waves are just a messy, choppy mess. We’ve got a bit of swell on the 14th and 15th, around 5.5ft to 5.6ft from the SSW, but the southerly winds are gonna tear it up. It’s just not worth paddling out for that. The energy is only moderate at best (644 to 875), and it’s just not gonna be any fun.

We do start to see a bigger pulse of swell arrive on Sunday the 16th. The swell drops a bit in the morning but the afternoon bumps up to 7.8ft from the south, and we get a nice jump in energy (2834). The problem is the wind is howling from the southeast at 22 mph. It’s cross and lumpy, so it’s not going to be clean. Monday the 17th sees the biggest swell of this first pulse, hitting 8.2ft from the south with strong energy (3534), but that fresh cross-shore wind is still ruining the party.

Here’s where things get interesting. The wind finally swings around to a cross-offshore from the ESE on Tuesday the 18th. The swell is solid, a proper 9.8ft from the SSE, with strong energy (3572). The conditions are described as clean. Now, this is a big one. At over 8ft, this is expert territory only. For the average punter, this will be a washing machine. But for the crew who can handle it, Dumbea Rights is going to be absolutely pumping. The period is a bit short at 10 seconds, but the size and the clean conditions will make up for it. This is one of the standouts of the whole window. Wednesday the 19th holds in with a solid 7.8ft – 8.2ft from the SE with strong energy (1386 – 1610) and still that clean cross-off breeze. Definitely another day for the experienced surfers only.

After that, the swell backs off quite a bit. We’ve got a few days with waves in the 4.9ft – 6.2ft range from the SE, but the period drops off. The energy backs off to moderate (444 – 780). The wind stays cross-off which is nice, but the waves get pretty weak and a bit ordinary. The morning of the 21st and through the 22nd, it’s really just small and weak, barely doing anything. By the 23rd, it's tiny – under 3ft. That’s a big drop. From the 22nd to around the 25th, you’re looking at several days where your best bet is to find something else to do.

Now, we’ve got one more pulse of swell showing up in the long-range, around the 25th of August. It’s not as big as that Tuesday pulse, but we’re looking at 4.9ft from the SSW. The problem is the wind is expected to be howling from the ESE at 28-31 mph. We’re talking near gale force. The conditions will be clean in the sense that it's offshore, but with that much wind, it's going to be a battle just to get out back. The energy is moderate (651 – 667). This one is for the die-hards only. Looking further out, there’s a little bump in swell for the morning of the 27th, with 5.6ft from the SW and decent energy (1092), but the blowing wind is still going to be an issue.

So, to wrap it up. The best bets are Tuesday the 18th and Wednesday the 19th. We’re talking solid, powerful surf and clean conditions. But those are definitely not for the faint of heart – this is a reef break and those are big waves. For everyone else, you might be waiting a while. The water temp is a normal 73.2°F, nothing crazy there.

Stay safe out there.

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