Elliott Heads Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Well, I’ve had a good look at what’s on offer for the next 16 days, and I’ve got to be straight with you – it’s a tough stretch. The swell is tiny, the wind is mostly all wrong, and the conditions are just plain messy. We’re looking at a long, long gap before anything even remotely worth paddling out for shows up.

Let’s start with the first bit of the forecast. From Thursday, 30 July, right through to Tuesday, 11 August, it’s a real write-off. The waves are barely a whisper, with heights lingering around 0.7ft to 4ft. The swell periods are short, mostly under 8 seconds, so there’s no real push or power. The wind is a constant problem – it’s cross, cross-on, or onshore consistently, making a mess of the surface. The combined swell energy is weak, sitting between 19 and 67 (not enough to get excited about). The water temperature is about average for this time of year, so that’s one thing we don’t have to complain about. It’s a frustrating blank run.

Then, we finally get a little glimmer on Wednesday, 12 August. It’s still tiny – only 0.3ft to 0.7ft – but the wind turns cross-offshore from the SSW and SW, giving us clean conditions at Elliott Heads (reef). The swell period climbs to 11 seconds on Wednesday afternoon, and then jumps to a very long 14 seconds by Thursday, 13 August. That long period groundswell is a good sign for a reef setup like this, but the size is just too small to do anything with. The combined energy is still weak, maxing out at 39. It’s clean, but not surfable.

The only real standout in this whole 16-day window comes on Friday, 14 August. The morning of the 14th shows a bit of promise. The wind goes glassy, dead calm, which is a major positive. The swell is still small at 1ft, but it’s coming from the ENE with a very long 14-second period. This is a groundswell, and for a reef break like Elliott Heads, that long period can create some nice, lined-up waves even with small swell. The combined energy jumps to 83, which is still weak but the highest we’ve seen in the whole run. The forecast score is only a 1/10, but hey, it’s the best we’ve got. If you’re desperate for a paddle and a bit of clean, glassy water, this is your window. But keep your expectations in check – it’s not going to be a classic.

So, to sum it up: there’s a lot of waiting ahead. The 14th is the only morning that looks even half-decent, and it’s a long way out, so treat it as a promising but uncertain prospect. The rest of the time, you’re better off staying home, doing a few repairs, and waiting for a better run.

Rusty.

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