Honkeys Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Look, I’ve been staring at the charts for Honkeys and I gotta be straight with you—this stretch is a tough one. We’ve got a solid 16-day window ahead, but honestly, the surf is going to be a real struggle for most of it. There are no standout days, no magic windows to circle on your calendar. The whole run is plagued by poor surf conditions, with onshore winds and dirty, lumpy lines. The water temp is sitting at a balmy 85°, which is about average for this time of year, so at least the swim won’t be cold.

We kick off on Wednesday the 29th of July, and it’s not pretty. A small 2ft swell from the SSW, but it’s got a long 20-second period—that’s groundswell energy, but it’s being wrecked by a moderate cross-onshore breeze at 12 mph out of the WSW. The combined energy is moderate at best (649), but the wave comment says it all: poor surf conditions. That theme carries right through Thursday and Friday, with swell hovering around 2ft to 3ft, same direction (SW/SSW), and those cross-onshore winds just won’t let up. By Friday afternoon, the wind picks up to a fresh 22 mph and the water gets lumpy.

Saturday and Sunday (August 1st & 2nd) offer a tiny glimmer. The swell bumps up to 3ft on Sunday morning, but the period drops to a short 8 seconds—windswell junk. The wind goes light cross and then cross-off, giving us a rare clean window on Sunday afternoon. That’s the best of the lot, but it’s marginal. Score reflects that: just a 1 out of 10. It’s that kind of forecast.

The first week of August is more of the same. Monday the 3rd through Wednesday the 5th sees swell between 2ft and 4ft, all from the south, and cross-onshore winds just chop it up. The combined energy stays in the moderate range (393 to 944), but with no quality, it’s a waist-high mess. The real build happens from Friday the 7th onward, when swell hits 5ft to 6ft from the S and SSE, with periods straddling 10 to 11 seconds. That’s proper energy—moderate to strong (some readings over 800)—but the wind is relentless onshore, either on or cross-on, at 12 to 19 mph. This is not surf for beginners; it’s only for experts, and even then, it’s blown-out and ugly. A beach-and-reef setup like Honkeys with these conditions? Honestly, this looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing.

We finally get a slight reprieve on Thursday the 13th of August, where the swell drops to 4ft from the SSE, the wind backs off to a gentle 9 mph, and the comments finally read “marginal surf.” The energy is still moderate (608), but the onshore wind and short period (10 seconds) mean it’s still not good. There’s just nothing to get excited about here.

To sum it up: a near-blank run for a solid two weeks. Honkeys is fairly consistent as a break, but when the conditions are this poor for so long, it’s just not worth paddling out. Forecasts can change, but right now, save your energy.

Rusty

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