Indian River (Southside) Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, it’s Rusty. Let’s be straight with you—looking at the next couple of weeks at Indian River (Southside), it’s a pretty flat and uneventful stretch. We’re kicking off with a real dud. The opening days of this outlook, starting Wednesday the 5th and running through the weekend, are basically a write-off. The swell is tiny, with the odd pulse pushing 2ft, and short, weak 4 to 6 second periods. The energy is pathetic—we’re looking at combined swell energy values in the teens, 20s, and 30s, just not enough to push any real surf onto the sand. Winds are all over the place, mostly cross or cross-off, and while the water is clean, there’s nothing to ride. It’s a classic early August flat spell.

Now, there’s a little glimmer of hope early next week. Around Monday the 10th and Tuesday the 11th, we’re still seeing tiny 1ft to 2ft waves. The energy dips even lower, down to the low 20s and even 15 on the Tuesday morning. It’s not surf, it’s just a ripple. We’re biding our time, watching the bank, and checking the horizon—which is doing nothing.

The real story, and the only thing that gets my heart rate up, is that pulse of easterly energy arriving from Saturday the 15th onwards. We finally see some size, with chest to head-high waves pushing 4ft to 5ft. This is when the combined swell energy starts to climb into three-digit territory, hitting 119, 129, and even 152. This is the standout period of the whole outlook. The direction swings to the east and east-northeast, which is not the optimum SSE direction for the spot, but it’s the only real surf we’re going to get. The catch is, the wind is onshore—east and east-southeast—which is going to chop it up and make it messy. This is a classic case of “if you’re desperate.” It’s pushing towards the limit of what’s fun for an average surfer, and it’s still only rated as poor surf conditions. The water temp is about average for this time of year, nothing weird there.

Monday the 17th keeps the size, with 4ft to 5ft on offer and moderate energy values of 143 to 174. Still onshore winds though, so it will be lumpy. The last couple of days of the window, Wednesday the 19th and Thursday the 20th, we see the swell fade back down to 2ft to 2ft, with the energy dropping back to the 60s and 50s. The wind goes a bit variable, with a cross-off on that final Thursday morning giving us clean conditions, but there’s next to nothing to ride. It’s a poor run, lads. The only real chance to get wet is that mid-month pulse, and even that will be a battle against the wind. Don’t get your hopes up too much, but keep the board ready just in case. Rusty out.

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