Gold Beach/South Park/Hunter Creek Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s get straight into the outlook for the local stretch.

Right off the bat, I gotta be honest with you – this is a tough one. We’re looking at a real lean run for the next sixteen days here at Gold Beach/South Park/Hunter Creek and the surrounding area. For the first week, it’s pretty much a write-off. The wind is just not playing ball. We’ve got a persistent cross-onshore flow from the NNW, and it’s not light breezes either – we’re talking a 16 mph breeze most mornings, picking up to a fresh 22 mph in the afternoons. That’s gonna just chop everything up. The swell is running small, around 2 ft to 3 ft, with a few little pulses, but with that wind, it’s just messy. The combined wave energy is moderate, sitting between 400 and 700 (moderate), but it’s not energy you can actually ride.

The water temperature is about average for this time of year, so no worries there.

We do see a glimmer of something towards the end of the first week, starting Tuesday the 21st. The wind drops off to a whisper, with a light air and a light cross-onshore, but the swell is still pretty marginal, around 2 ft to 3 ft and coming from the SSW. The energy is still moderate (around 285-350), but with the light wind, it’ll be small and clean. Wednesday and Thursday the 22nd and 23rd are similar – small, clean, but marginal. A 9 mph breeze keeps things from getting too choppy, but the swell periods are around 14 to 16 seconds, which is a long period groundswell. That’s good for shape, but at a beach and reef setup like this, it can break a bit straight, so you’ll need to pick your bank.

Now, the real standouts are further out, and I’m calling it now – the Saturday the 25th and Sunday the 26th are our best bet. The swell starts to build up into the 3 ft to 4 ft range from the SW, with a long period of 21 seconds dropping to 19 seconds. The combined wave energy gets strong, hitting 778 to 1118 (strong to very strong). The wind is light, with a 6 mph breeze from the SSW on Saturday, and a 9 mph breeze from the NW on Sunday. Both days are cross-onshore, but the wind is light, so the surf will be clean with only small wind ripples. This is the window to get out. The 4 ft swell on Sunday is right in the sweet spot for intermediate surfers.

The second week, from the 27th onwards, looks like it’s gonna get cranky again. The wind picks back up to a 16 mph breeze from the NNW, and the swell mixes in a short period NW windswell around 8 seconds. For a few days, the swell stays around 3 ft to 5 ft, but with that fresh cross-shore wind, it’s going to be lumpy and messy. At the very end of the period, on the 31st of July, we see a 5 ft to 6 ft NW swell, but it’s short period, and the wind is a strong 28 mph. That’s not for surfing, that’s kite territory. The combined energy is moderate (325-535), but it’s wasted.

So, to wrap it up: the first few days are a wash with the wind. The middle of the first week offers small, clean waves if you’re desperate. The standout is the weekend of the 25th and 26th, with a building, clean SW groundswell under light winds. After that, it’s on again, off again, and the end of the run is just messy.

Rusty, signing off.

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