Friendly Beaches Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Look, the next couple of weeks at Friendly Beaches are a real mixed bag. We’ve got some proper swell windows, but also long flat spells to sit through. The water temp is bang on average for this time of year, around 59°.

Things kick off this Friday, 3 July, with a 5ft NNE swell pushing in (combined energy of 493 – moderate). It’s a cross-offshore breeze, so the waves will be clean. Not huge, but it’s a start. Friday afternoon drops to 4ft from the NE with a solid offshore wind – that’s actually nicer, cleaner lines.

Saturday the 4th is a write-off – tiny 2ft mush in the morning and a messy 3ft S swell in the arvo with that long 15-second period. That long period at a beach break like this can make it fat and straight. Not worth paddling out.

Sunday the 5th is the real standout of this first week. 7ft S swell in the morning (combined energy of 1554 – strong), dropping to 7ft SSE in the afternoon (combined energy of 1034 – still strong). Light offshore winds both sessions, clean faces. This is for experienced surfers only – over 8ft is expert territory and this is close. Expect crowds possible. That’s the best on offer for the first week.

Monday the 6th has a 5ft SSE swell with glassy conditions in the morning – clean as a whistle, but the energy drops to 434 (moderate). Monday afternoon turns cross-onshore and gets lumpy. Tuesday the 7th is small and glassy in the morning at 3ft, but nothing special. Wednesday the 8th is a non-event with tiny 1.0ft to 1ft S groundswell – period hits 18 seconds, so the sets are far apart. Not for this beach.

There’s a gap from Thursday 9 July through to Saturday 11 July where the swell is under 3ft and the energy is weak (values like 228 down to 41). Boring stuff. Sunday the 12th offers 5ft N windswell but the wind is messy cross-shore at 12 mph – choppy, not surfable. Monday the 13th and Tuesday the 14th are tiny again with long-period S swells under 2ft. Just dead.

Now, Wednesday 15 July – whoa. The swell jumps to 15ft from the S (combined energy of 3011 – very strong). That’s way too big, even for experts. The wind is cross-off, but the forecast says it’s too big for this break. Thursday 16 July is still big: 10ft SSE in the morning, then 8ft SE in the afternoon with a clean offshore wind. That afternoon session is for experienced surfers only – solid, powerful, and clean. A true standout for the second week.

Friday 17 July shapes up nicely with a 4ft to 4ft ESE groundswell (period 14-15 seconds) and light cross-off winds. Combined energy is strong (1114-1285). The long period means better-shaped waves, but at a beach break it can run a bit straight – still, cleaner than most. Saturday 18 July sees a 7ft E swell (period 12 seconds, energy 1739 – strong) and light cross-off winds. Again, for experienced surfers. Crowds likely on these good days.

Overall, Sunday 5 July and Thursday 16 July (afternoon) are the top picks – proper swell, clean wind, and plenty of energy. Just know Friendly Beaches is an exposed beach break and can be fickle with long-period swells. If the swell is big and the quality’s off, it’d be more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing. Stay patient.

Rusty.

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