Emma Wood State Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Look, I’ve gotta be straight with you—this 16-day window for Emma Wood State Beach is a tough one. There’s not a single decent surf session on the cards. The whole run is a flat, blown-out mess, and the first recommendation doesn’t even pop up until Thursday the 30th of July, and even then it’s only rated as marginal. Before that, we’ve got a solid three-day gap of absolute nothing worth paddling for. From the 27th to the 29th of July, it’s all poor surf conditions with onshore and cross-onshore winds messing up the weak, wobbly lines.

Let’s break it down. The whole period is dominated by light breezes, but the wind is constantly from the WSW or SW, putting it onshore or cross-onshore at this beach-and-reef setup. That’s a killer for quality. The swell is tiny—mostly 2ft to 3ft—and the periods are all over the place. Early on, we see those long-period swells (18 seconds, 19 seconds) from the SSW, which sounds promising, but the combined energy is weak to moderate, around 334 to 454. That’s just not enough push to overcome the crap wind. For a beach-and-reef break, long-period groundswell can sometimes make things too straight and fast, but here it’s just flat and messy.

The best of a bad lot might be Thursday the 30th of July. The morning has a 2ft SSW swell with a 16-second period and light onshore breeze. The combined energy is 339 (moderate). It’s still marginal, but it’s the closest thing to a window. The water temperature is sitting at 70°, which is a whopping 7° warmer than normal for this time of year—that’s very unusual, and you’ll feel it like a warm bath. The afternoon that day picks up to 3ft from the S with a 15-second period and 414 energy, but the cross-onshore wind kills it.

Friday the 31st of July morning has a 3ft S swell, 13-second period, 362 energy, and light onshore wind. Again, it’s marginal. But the afternoon turns choppy with cross-onshore winds. After that, it’s all downhill. By the 1st of August, the swell drops to 2ft and the period shortens to 11-12 seconds, energy falling to 188-198. The 2nd of August sees a shift to a W swell, but it’s only 3ft at 10 seconds, and by the 3rd it’s down to 2ft at 7 seconds—weak, lumpy, no good.

From the 4th of August onwards, it’s tiny. Swells of 1ft to 2ft, periods ranging from 14 to 21 seconds, but with combined energy dipping as low as 39. That’s barely a ripple. The 21-second period on the 6th of August is a tease—long-period groundswell, but with 0.7ft of height and cross-onshore wind, it’s unrideable. Even the 11th of August, with a 1ft SW swell at 19 seconds and 191 energy, is just a flat, choppy mess.

This break is fairly consistent for waves, but when the quality is this poor, it’s a real bummer. The onshore wind direction is just relentless. Honestly, at this size and with the constant cross-onshore chop, a kite surfer might get more out of it than a paddle surfer, but for us wave riders, it’s a write-off. Forecasts can change, so don’t write it off completely, but as it stands, leave the board at home.

Rusty.

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