Freshwater and Harbord Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here, and I’ve gotta be straight with you—this is shaping up as a pretty rough run for the next couple of weeks. The swell is going to be a bit of a mess for a while, mostly blown out and onshore, so you’ll need to be patient. The best of the lot, and really the only standout, lands on the morning of Saturday, July 18th, when everything finally aligns for a window of clean, solid surf.

The forecast starts with a big, angry pulse of swell slamming into Freshwater and Harbord from the SSE, pushing 10 feet on Monday morning, July 6th, with a period of 10 seconds. The combined wave energy is cranking at 1624, but the wind is a cross-on SSE breeze at 16 mph, and it’s just poor, choppy conditions. That same blown-out pattern sticks around through Tuesday, July 7th, with the swell even hitting 12 feet and 11 seconds on the afternoon, energy up to 2717, but the wind is a fresh cross-on at 19 mph, making it lumpy and only for the experts. If you’re a beginner, stay well clear of anything over 5 feet here, and this is well past that.

We get a bit of a drop on Wednesday, July 8th, down to 8 feet, but it’s still cross-on and fairly choppy. Thursday, July 9th, the swell drops to 7 feet, and while the wind goes onshore, it’s gentle, but the surf is still rated poor. The water temperature is about average for this time of year, nothing unusual.

Now, Friday morning, July 10th, is where we start to see a glimmer. The swell settles to 6 feet from the SE, period 9 seconds, and the wind swings to a light WSW cross-off at 6 mph, making it clean. The energy is at 481, so it’s moderate, and the surf is actually clean. It’s a low score, but it’s the first decent-looking window. Still, it’s not a standout by any means.

The real standout comes on Saturday morning, July 18th. After a long gap of tiny, weak surf through the middle of the month—where the swell drops to 0.7 feet and even flat days with zero energy from July 15th to 16th—we get a new pulse. On Saturday morning, July 18th, the swell picks up to 7 feet from the SE, with a period of 11 seconds, and the combined energy is a solid 1046. The wind is a light W at 6 mph, cross-off, and it’s forecast to be clean. This is the best on offer. The SE direction is a good match for the optimum swell direction for Freshwater, which is ENE. The waves will be solid, with that long period of 11 seconds meaning good shape and energy, but at 7 feet, it’s getting into the expert zone—beginners should give it a miss. Crowds are often a problem here, so expect a few out.

The following morning, Sunday, July 19th, the swell fades to 4 feet, and the wind is offshore NW at 12 mph, so it’s clean but smaller. That’s a bit of a mellow end to the run.

So, to wrap it up: the first week is mostly blown-out and big, then a flat spell, then that Saturday morning, July 18th, stands out as the cleanest, most powerful session. The long-range call is promising but a bit uncertain. Keep an eye on it.

Rusty.

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