Indicators Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G'day, Rusty here, and I've gotta be straight with you – this outlook is a tough one. The good news is there's a glimmer of hope on the distant horizon, and the water is something special for July. At Indicators, the water temp is sitting at 60°, which is a massive 4° warmer than usual – that's a real treat for this time of year. But the surf? For the first week and a half, it's a frustrating run of small, weak, and messy conditions.

Monday the 13th and Tuesday the 14th are a write-off. Swell is tiny, around 2 ft to 2 ft, and the wind is mostly cross-onshore or light. Tuesday afternoon shows a slight improvement with a 4 ft swell from the NW and glassy conditions, but the period is a short 8 seconds, so the waves will be weak and fat. The energy is still moderate (339), and it's only rated as "surfable but very ordinary." Not worth paddling out for.

Wednesday the 15th through to the morning of Friday the 17th is more of the same – small, short-period swell from the WNW and SW, with light onshore winds. The combined energy sits between 364 and 584, which is moderate, but the quality is poor. Thursday the 16th afternoon sees a bump to 6 ft, but the wind swings cross-onshore at 12 mph, making it choppy and ugly. This setup is way more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing.

The weekend of the 19th and 20th offers a little more consistency, but the swell is still small at 2 ft to 3 ft. The wind is light and onshore, and the period stretches to 17 seconds, which is a long period groundswell. That means more energy in the water, but at a point break like Indicators, which is sheltered and exposed to WNW, the swell direction is all wrong. The energy is moderate (394 to 640), but with the wind onshore, it's still a no-go.

Now, the real standout appears in the second week, but it's a long way off. On Saturday the 25th of July, we see a pulse of WNW swell hitting 4 ft in the morning, building to 5 ft in the afternoon. The period is 9 to 10 seconds, which is a solid short-period groundswell. The energy climbs to 574 in the afternoon, which is strong. More importantly, the wind is light and onshore, so it should be clean. This is the best on offer, but it's still marginal.

Then, on Sunday the 26th of July, the swell peaks. Morning sees 6 ft from the WNW with a 10-second period, and the energy jumps to 842 – solid moderate to strong. The wind is light and onshore, so conditions should be glassy. This is your best chance. The swell is a bit big for beginners at 6 ft, and it's a bit steep for the beach break, but for a point like Indicators, with the right direction, it could produce some fun lines. The afternoon holds at 5 ft, still clean.

After that, Monday the 27th and Tuesday the 28th drop back down to 3 ft to 3 ft, with a long period SSW swell, but the wind stays light and onshore. The energy is high (854 in the morning), but the swell direction is wrong, and the quality is poor.

So, to sum it up: the first 12 days are a blank run. The only real standouts are Saturday the 25th and Sunday the 26th of July, with the Sunday morning looking the best: 6 ft WNW swell, 10-second period, and light offshore wind. That's your window. Keep an eye on the forecasts, because it’s a long way out, but it’s the only real hope we've got.

Rusty.

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