Hideaway Surf Forecast and Surf Report

IMPERIAL

G’day, Rusty here. We’re looking at a tricky 16-day window for Hideaway (reef). This is an advanced-only wave that rarely breaks, so don’t get your hopes up for a quick fix. The water’s sitting at 78°F with a 0.9°F anomaly – pretty much average for this time of year.

The first real pulse of size arrives on Sunday the 27th of July, with a 7ft SSW swell at 16 seconds. The combined energy is strong at 2502. The wind’s cross-shore in the morning, which isn’t terrible, but it’s an 8ft cross-onshore mess by the afternoon – that’s expert territory and ugly. Honestly, it’s not worth paddling for unless you’re a masochist. Monday the 28th drops to 7ft, still cross-shore and choppy. The energy’s still moderate (1534), but it’s inconsistent and the wind’s average.

Then we hit Wednesday the 30th of July – the best of this first week. 4ft from the SSE at 12 seconds, combined energy of 871 (moderate), and crucially a cross-offshore breeze in the morning. Clean. It’s not huge, but for this rare break, it’s a window. Still, it’s hardly a standout.

The standout window is a long way off – Saturday the 8th of August. That morning you’ve got 4ft SSW swell at 13 seconds with a light cross-offshore breeze and clean conditions. The energy’s moderate at 1190. But the real gem is the afternoon: 3ft from the SSW with a 20-second period – proper long-period groundswell. The wind goes glassy at 3 mph. That’s as good as it gets for Hideaway. It’s a reef, so that long period will wrap in nicely. Expect it to be clean and lined up, but remember this break rarely breaks, so you could be sharing it with just a few others who know the spot. Crowds are only a possibility.

The week before that is patchy at best. Wednesday the 6th of August morning has a clean 4ft at 16 seconds, cross-offshore, but it’s inconsistent. And Friday the 7th of August afternoon gives you 5ft at 14 seconds with a clean cross-off breeze – again, not terrible but not a standout.

There are several days with no surf worth mentioning, especially early on where everything scores a zero or low rating. The gap between the 25th and 26th of July is dead, and there’s another lull just before the 8th of August.

If you’re a kiter, that Sunday the 27th of July with 8ft and cross-onshore chop might look more appealing than a paddle.

Summing up: wait for Saturday the 8th of August, aim for the afternoon glass-off at Hideaway. It’s a rare treat.

Rusty

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