Dunes Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, this is Rusty. Let’s look at what’s coming up for Dunes, a reef break. We’re starting off with a bit of a quiet stretch, so don’t get your hopes up just yet. The water’s sitting at 76°, which is pretty normal for this time of year – nothing out of the ordinary.

The first few days, from Wednesday the 22nd right through the weekend and into the start of the next week, it’s really just small stuff. Swells are tiny, mostly around 2ft to 2ft from the SW or WSW. The energy is weak to moderate at best (169 to 218). The winds are mostly cross-off or cross-on, and while there are a few glassy afternoons, the surf is honestly just ordinary – surfable, but nothing to write home about. The Wednesday morning of the 22nd has a 2ft SW swell, but it’s crossed up with a 25 km/h east wind, so it’s poor. The best of that early period is Thursday afternoon the 23rd with a 2ft SW swell going glassy, and Friday afternoon the 24th also goes glassy with 2ft SW swell. Both are just “surfable but very ordinary.” Not worth rushing out for.

Things start to look a bit more promising from Tuesday the 28th morning. We’ve got a 3ft SW swell coming in with a clean east breeze at 15 km/h – that’s a cross-off, and the energy is now moderate (253). The waves are expected to be good, but it’s still small. The Wednesday morning the 29th is similar, with 2ft SW swell and a clean 15 km/h east wind.

Then we hit the end of the month, and the real standout is Monday the 3rd of August. That afternoon, the swell jumps to 5ft from the SW, with a period of 18 seconds – that’s a long-period groundswell. The energy is strong (1227), and we’ve got a moderate offshore wind from the SSE at 20 km/h. That’s clean, powerful surf, but it’s built for experienced surfers. The swell’s over 5ft, so it’s not for beginners, and with that long period, it’ll be better on this reef. The morning of that same day is also solid – 5ft SW, 18 seconds, but with a strong 40 km/h SE offshore wind, which is hard to paddle into, so it’s more of a mission.

The only other day that gets close is the Saturday the 2nd of August morning, with a 4ft SW swell and a fresh offshore wind, but it’s only rated as marginal. The Monday the 5th of August afternoon has a 5ft SW swell with a 19-second period, but the wind is cross-on, so it’s no good.

Overall, the best bet is Monday the 3rd of August afternoon. It’s a proper groundswell with clean offshore winds, and the reef will handle that long period well. The swell’s a bit too big for the beginners, but for the experienced crew, that’s the one to circle on the calendar. The rest of the window is mostly small and average, with a few glassy moments but nothing that’s going to get the heart racing.

Rusty.

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