Flagpoles Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let's have a look at what's on the cards for Flagpoles. It's a beach and reef setup, best with a NE swell, and it's a very consistent spot, so when there's something to ride, it generally shows up.

Right off the bat, I gotta be straight with you – this is a tough stretch. We're looking at a solid run of nothing on offer for the first week and a half. From Saturday the 25th of July right through to the morning of Saturday the 1st of August, there's just no decent surf to speak of. The swell is tiny, mostly around 0.7ft to 1ft, with a short period of 8 seconds. The combined energy is weak, barely cracking 23 (23) at its best, and most days it's in the single digits. The wind is often clean or cross-off, but with no real swell to work with, it's just flat and frustrating. The water temperature is sitting at a warm 86°F, which is about average for the time of year, so at least a dip won't be a shock.

Then things get a little weird. On the afternoon of Saturday the 1st of August, we get a brief pulse of swell from the SSE at 3ft, but it's only a 4-second period. That's pure wind chop. The energy is still low at 33 (33), and the wind turns offshore, but it's not enough to call it a surf. The same goes for Sunday the 2nd and Monday the 3rd – a bit of knee-high SE windswell, but the wind is either cross-on or onshore, making it messy. The combined energy never gets past 39 (39).

This pattern of poor conditions drags on. The swell stays inconsistent, the wind is rarely in our favour, and the wave comments tell the whole story: "poor surf conditions" across the board. There's a period of strong, clean cross-off winds on the 30th and 31st of July, but with only 0.3ft of swell, it's a total flat spell. The energy drops to a pathetic 3 (3) on the morning of the 31st.

Honestly, looking at the whole 16-day window, there isn't a single standout session. The swell is too small, too short-period, and the direction is all over the place – mostly SE and ESE, which isn't the optimum NE direction for Flagpoles. The energy numbers are always weak, the highest being 49 (49) on the 9th of August, but that's still tiny. For a spot that's very consistent, this is a real bummer of a forecast. The whole setup looks more interesting for a kite surfer than a paddle surfer, given the constant onshore and cross-onshore breezes with that tiny chop. Save your energy and wait for a better window.

Rusty

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