Gallows Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let's have a look at what we're dealing with over the next couple of weeks.

Right off the bat, I gotta be straight with you—this is a tough stretch. The good news is we start with a little pulse of swell at Gallows, a reef and point setup that needs a southerly direction to work best. The water temp is sitting at 67° right now, which is pretty much bang on average for this time of year, so no surprises there.

Monday the 17th starts off messy. We've got a 5ft swell from the SE, but with a short period of 7 seconds and a light cross-onshore wind, it's not looking inviting at all. The energy is moderate (533), but the conditions are just not there. By Monday afternoon, it actually turns onshore and goes flat out poor.

Tuesday the 18th is where we get a narrow window. The morning is still cross-on and average with 5ft from the ESE (351). But Tuesday afternoon? That’s the standout of the whole forecast. The wind goes glassy—absolutely dead calm—and we get a clean 4ft swell from the ESE. The energy drops a bit (299), but with zero wind and glassy conditions, this is your best chance. It’s small, but it’ll be clean and workable. If you can paddle out Tuesday afternoon, do it. The period is short at 7 seconds, so don’t expect grinding barrels, but for a fun little session, this is it.

After that, it’s a long, slow decline. Wednesday the 19th has another brief glassy window in the afternoon with a longer 10-second period (394 energy), but it’s only 5ft. Thursday morning is clean but small at 4ft, and then the wind picks up hard from the NNE Thursday afternoon, ruining the fun. From Friday the 21st onwards, the swell just tanks. Heights drop below 3ft, energy numbers fall into the weak range (under 100), and the wind is mostly cross or cross-off.

We go through a long gap from Friday the 21st right through to the end of the month with nothing worth paddling for. The swell stays tiny, mostly around 2ft to 3ft, and the wind is often moderate to fresh. On Tuesday the 24th afternoon, there’s a weird spike in period to 19 seconds from the SSE, but the swell height is only 1ft—so you’ll see some long lines but nothing you can ride. The energy is weak (81).

Into the first days of September, we get a little lift in energy (170) but the swell is still small at 3ft from the E, and the wind is moderate cross-off. It’s clean, but there’s just not enough swell to get excited about.

Overall, this is a poor run. The only real highlight is Tuesday afternoon, the 18th—tiny but glassy. If you’re a beginner, the Tuesday afternoon stuff is fine, but once we get anything over 5ft here at Gallows, it gets advanced-only. That’s not an issue this time around. Crowds are often an issue here, but on a tiny glassy afternoon, you might find a little peace.

Stay patient, lads. It tends not to stay this quiet forever.
Rusty

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