Il Sale Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Let’s be straight up: this is a tough outlook for Il Sale. We’re looking at a long, flat run with barely a ripple for the first two weeks, then one morning that finally shows a bit of life right at the end of the window.

Right now, Thursday the 30th of July, it’s tiny. Swell is a pathetic 0.7 ft from the west with a combined energy reading of just 2 – weak energy. The morning’s glassy off the NNW at 3 mph, but there’s nothing to ride. That sets the tone. Friday, Saturday, Sunday… all tiny, mostly under 2 ft, and mostly cross-on or onshore winds. Glassy windows on Saturday morning (2 ft, glass) and Sunday morning (1 ft, glass) feel like a cruel tease – the ocean just isn’t pushing any power. The water temp is a very unusual 82°, a massive 6° warmer than normal for this time of year – feels like a bath.

Monday the 3rd of August through to Monday the 10th of August is a dead zone. Swell heights hover between zero and 1 ft. Combined energy barely scrapes past single digits. There are clean, glassy moments (like Tuesday morning the 4th with clean 1 ft from the SSE, and Monday morning the 10th with a clean 0.7 ft offshore from the ENE), but we’re talking ankle-snappers, not surf. It’s a solid week-plus with no worthwhile recommendation.

Then on Tuesday the 11th of August, we finally see a pulse. The morning bumps to 3 ft from the WSW with combined energy at 54 (still weak energy) and clean offshore ENE wind at 6 mph – finally something you could paddle for, but it’s still small and ordinary. The afternoon jumps to 5 ft from the SW, energy at 265 (moderate wave energy), but a cross-on 12 mph from the NW ruins it – choppy and poor.

The true standout is Wednesday morning the 12th of August. The swell hits 7 ft from the WSW, period 8 seconds, and combined energy at 650 – moderate energy but pushing strong. The kicker is glassy conditions with ENE wind at 3 mph. That’s clean, powerful surf. At 7 ft, this is expert territory – too big for beginners. The swell direction (WSW) matches the optimum direction from the guidance (SW) closely enough for this reef break at Il Sale to work well. The period is 8 seconds, so a mix of ground and wind swell, but the glassy conditions will keep it clean. This is the only morning worth circling on your calendar.

The afternoon of the 12th drops to 5 ft and goes cross-on with a W breeze – messy again. Thursday the 13th morning still has some 3 ft from the WSW with combined energy at 146 (moderate energy) and clean cross-off NE wind at 3 mph – surfable but ordinary. After that, it fades fast.

Overall, Wednesday morning the 12th is the one chance for decent waves. The rest is a long gap of flat or poor conditions. It’s a blank run that feels normal for this stretch – but when a pulse like that 12th morning lines up with glass, you’ve got to be ready.

Rusty.

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