Garbage Dump Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here, let’s talk about what’s coming up for Garbage Dump.

First off, the water is sitting at 54°, which is a staggering 6° colder than normal for this time of year. That’s a serious wetsuit session, not a spring suit day. The good news is that this is a fairly consistent point break, exposed to the SW swell, and it’s set to see some action.

The first few days are a bit of a write-off. Tuesday the 1st starts with a 5ft SW swell at 11 seconds, but the S wind is cross, creating a slight chop. By the afternoon, it jumps to 7ft, but the wind turns cross-on and fresh, making it a lumpy mess. The combined energy is moderate (651) in the morning, but it’s just not clean. Wednesday the 2nd is more of the same with cross-on winds and choppy conditions, even with a 7ft swell.

The first real glimmer comes on Thursday the 3rd morning. The wind swings NNE at 6 mph, giving us a clean, cross-off breeze. The swell is 5ft from the WSW at 13 seconds, a nice long period. The energy is solid (838) and the surf is clean. This is your best morning of the first week. The afternoon, however, gets too big at 10ft – that’s expert territory, and the wind turns cross-on, making it fairly choppy. The combined energy is over 2000 (2135), so there’s heaps of power, but it’s not for the faint of heart.

Friday the 4th and Saturday the 5th are small and weak, with swell dropping to 3ft and 2ft and energy levels barely above 100. The wind is clean on Friday morning, but the waves are just too tiny to get excited about.

Hold on for Sunday the 6th morning. The wind is offshore from the E at 12 mph, and we’ve got a 3ft groundswell from the WSW with a very long period of 16 seconds. The energy is moderate (367), and it’s clean. That 16-second period means the waves will be lined up and powerful for their size, but at a point break like Garbage Dump, it’ll be a treat. Not a standout for size, but pure quality.

The whole second week gets slow. There’s a small window on Thursday the 10th morning. The wind is glassy – dead calm from the NE at 3 mph – and the swell is 3ft from the WSW at 16 seconds again. The energy is 560, and it’s glassy. That’s a beautiful, clean morning for a longboard or a fish, but the swell is small.

The standout for the whole period? Thursday the 10th morning. It’s not the biggest, but with glassy conditions and a 16-second groundswell, Garbage Dump will be clean, lined up, and a joy to surf. The water is still cold, but the lack of wind is a major positive. The only caveat is the long period – at a point break, it’ll wrap in beautifully, so no worries there.

Friday the 11th morning has a 5ft swell at 13 seconds with a clean cross-off wind from the NNE, but the energy is moderate (828). It’s a solid option if you missed Thursday, but the glass on Thursday is the real winner.

After that, from the 12th onwards, it’s a lot of poor conditions with strong winds and small, choppy swell. The setup looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing on those days.

So, to sum it up: the best session is Thursday the 10th morning for the glassy, long-period groundswell. The backup is Thursday the 3rd morning for the clean, 5ft swell. Everything else is a struggle or a wait.

Rusty.

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