Inch Reefs Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, I’m Rusty, and I’ve been staring at the charts for Inch Reefs (point) for the next couple of weeks. The water temperature here is sitting at 63°F, which is a touch warmer than normal for this time of year—something to keep in mind when you’re deciding how thick a wetsuit you need.

Honestly, it’s a pretty grim run for the next several days. The opening Sunday morning (2nd August) is a write-off: tiny 2 ft SW swell with a short 10-second period, weak energy (89), and a cross-shore breeze that’s got a slight chop on it. Useless. Sunday afternoon, though, there’s a flicker of hope—the swell jumps to 5 ft from the SW, period drops to 9 seconds, energy is moderate (428), and the wind turns cross-offshore, cleaning things right up. That’s the best window in the whole first week, and it’s not even a standout.

Monday morning (3rd August) keeps the clean theme with a cross-offshore breeze and 4 ft SSW swell (8 seconds, energy 200)—nothing to get excited about. Monday afternoon the wind swings cross-shore again and the swell drops to 3 ft—back to poor. Then from Tuesday (4th August) through to Friday morning (7th August), we’re looking at a string of days with tiny swell under 2 ft, onshore or cross-onshore winds, and very weak energy. The combined energy barely cracks double digits most of the time. Basically, a long gap of nothing.

Friday afternoon (7th August) things get interesting, but not in a good way for most surfers. The swell jumps to 8 ft from the W (9 seconds) and the energy rockets to 1184—strong wave energy. But the wind is onshore, and the notes say it’s marginal with questionable tides. That’s big, raw, onshore slop. Probably only for the die-hards, and even then it’s a battle.

Saturday morning (8th August) still has a solid 7 ft WNW swell (8 seconds, energy 518) but with onshore winds, so it’s messy. The rest of the first week and into the second week just keeps the trend of poor surf, small swell, and cross-onshore winds. There’s a bit of a rise on Wednesday 12th August with 4 ft SW swell (8 seconds, energy 229) but it’s marginal at best.

Then we get to the standout. Sunday morning, 16th August. This is the one to circle. The swell is pumping at 12 ft from the W with a 10-second period, and the combined energy is a massive 2042—very strong wave energy. The wind is light and cross-onshore, which is clean enough. But here’s the catch: at 12 ft, this is only for experts. The break is a point, so it’ll handle the size, but you need to be on your game. The forecast even says it might be too big for this break. If you’re experienced and confident, this is the session. The afternoon sees the wind pick up to 16 mph, turning it choppy, so the morning window is the golden ticket.

The rest of the second week from 17th August onwards drops back to 5–6 ft W swell with cross-onshore winds—nothing to write home about.

So, bottom line: the first week is mostly a bust. The one real standout is Sunday morning, 16th August, if you’ve got the skills. It’s promising but keep in mind it’s a long-range call, so check the forecast closer to the day.

Rusty

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