Higgins Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, it’s Rusty here.

Honestly, the next couple of weeks are looking pretty flat and grubby for Higgins Beach. We’ve got a real dry spell on our hands for the first week or so. There’s a solid stretch from Wednesday the 5th right through to about Tuesday the 11th where you’d be lucky to find anything ridable. We’re talking tiny ankle-biters mostly under 2ft, with weak energy readings in the 12 to 52 range. The wind is mostly cross-on or cross, and a lot of it is coming from the south, which just chops up the surface. A few mornings show glass, like Thursday the 6th and Friday the 7th, but with swell that small and periods around 6 seconds, it’s not going to be worth the paddle.

There’s a slight pulse of energy showing for Monday the 10th morning, with the combined energy hitting 52, but the swell is still only 2ft and the wind is cross. It’s not going to do much.

The gap in any real surf lasts until around the 18th of August. That’s a big stretch of nothing. But hang in there, because things finally start to change.

Around Tuesday the 18th, we finally see some proper swell push in. Early morning on the 18th, we’re looking at 3ft of SSE swell, with a period of 8 seconds. The combined energy jumps to 118, which is a moderate amount of energy. The wind is cross-on from the south at 15 km/h, making it a bit bumpy, but there’s finally some size. That afternoon the swell builds to 3ft, energy up to 125, but the wind picks up to 25 km/h from the south, making it more crossed-on and choppy. It’s not perfect, but it’s the most surf we’ve seen.

Wednesday the 19th is the standout of this whole run. Morning brings 4ft of SE swell with energy at 141. The wind is cross from the SSW at 20 km/h, so it’s going to be a bit lumpy, but there’s push there. The afternoon sees the swell hold at 4ft, energy climbing to 168, but the wind freshens to 30 km/h from the south, creating some proper lumpy, cross-on conditions. That’s a lot of wind for waves that size.

One thing to keep in mind: this is all peaky, short-period swell (8 seconds). That tends to close out fast at beach breaks. Higgins is an exposed beach, and with that south in the wind, it’s going to be a bit of a battle. This might actually be a setup where the kites are having more fun than the paddle surfers, especially on Wednesday afternoon when that wind really gets up.

So, the long and short of it is: it’s mostly flat and frustrating for the first ten days, with a notable blank run from the 7th to the 17th. Then we get a couple of days of real, rideable, albeit a bit rough, surf around the 18th and 19th. That’s your window. Don’t hold your breath for perfection, but at least it’s something.

Rusty.

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