Dunes Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, this is Rusty, and I’m looking at the next 16 days for Dunes. This is a reef break, exposed to the swell, but it’s not a spot that’s going to be consistently firing. The water is sitting at 75°, which is a touch warmer than normal for this time of year – nothing wild, but it’s a nice little bonus.

The immediate outlook is a bit mixed. It kicks off on Wednesday afternoon, the 19th, with a 7 ft WSW swell, but that’s a long-period 16 second groundswell and the conditions are only marginal. We’ve got a light breeze from the NW, but it’s onshore, so it’s a bit of a wait-and-see situation.

The real standouts come in the next couple of days. Thursday morning, the 20th, is looking crisp. The swell drops to 5 ft from the SW, still a solid 15 second period, but the wind is offshore from the SE at 9 mph. That’s clean, with a moderate offshore breeze. The wave energy is solid at 930. Then Thursday afternoon, it gets even better. The wind goes glassy from the W, the swell pushes up to 5 ft SW at 16 seconds, and the energy jumps to 1148. This is the best of the run – clean, glassy, great shape for the reef. This is the one for experienced surfers.

Friday morning, the 21st, keeps the offshore wind from the SE, but it’s a bit stronger at 12 mph. The swell is 5 ft SW, 15 seconds, and energy at 894. It’s still very good. Friday afternoon, the wind swings to a cross-shore from the WSW, and it gets a bit lumpy. That’s a drop-off.

The weekend is a write-off. Saturday morning, the 22nd, starts clean with a cross-offshore breeze, but the swell is already dropping to 4 ft, and by Saturday afternoon, a fresh 19 mph cross-shore from the WSW kills it. Sunday the 23rd is a total loss – strong winds, small swell, poor conditions. That’s a two-day gap of nothing.

Monday the 24th has a brief window in the morning. The wind is offshore from the SE at 16 mph, with a 3 ft SW swell, but the period is short at 13 seconds. The energy is 661, so it’s small but clean. The afternoons stay poor for the rest of that week.

We’ve got a long gap from Monday afternoon through to the next week. There’s a bit of a tease on Thursday the 27th morning – the swell jumps back to 6 ft WSW at 17 seconds, with a crazy energy of 1833, but the wind is a cross-offshore from the S at 16 mph, and it’s flagged as marginal. The following days are mostly windy or choppy.

Then, looking way out, we get a real promising one. Tuesday morning, the 1st of September. The swell is 5 ft from the WSW, with a 16 second period, and the energy is 1289. The wind is a light cross-offshore from the ESE at 6 mph. That’s flagged as excellent for experienced surfers. That’s the one to circle – it’s far out, but the setup looks solid. Wednesday the 2nd and Thursday the 3rd mornings also have some clean offshore windows, but the swell is smaller at 5 ft.

So, the pick of the bunch is Thursday afternoon, the 20th of August. That glassy, clean 5 ft SW swell on the reef is going to be the best of the month. The distant Tuesday 1st September morning is the long-range standout, but keep an eye on it.

Rusty.

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