Indicators Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here, and I’ve got a tough one for you. This stretch of coast is looking at a real lean run, with the first decent surf recommendation not showing up until the early morning of Friday, July 18th, and even then, it’s a tough sell. We’re looking at a gap of about a day and a half before there’s anything worth paddling for.

Let’s break it down. First up, Indicators (point break). It’s a sheltered spot, needing a WNW swell direction to really work, but it’s a tricky one. It’s rated for advanced surfers only, and it’s fairly consistent, but it can be crowded often. The water temp is about average for the time of year, so nothing unusual there.

The real story is a long, drawn-out period of poor conditions. For the first several days, we’ve got onshore winds and mostly weak, small swell. The combined energy barely cracks 600 (945 early Friday morning, but it’s messy). The swell is coming from the west and northwest, but it’s short period, around 8 seconds, with marginal surf at best. This isn’t the kind of energy that builds a proper wave. Saturday July 19th sees a bit more energy, but it’s still poor with onshore winds.

The wind stays stubbornly onshore or cross-onshore through the whole first week, and the wave heights are small, mostly under 3 ft. It’s frustrating. The swell direction shifts to a south-southwest, but it’s not the breaker’s optimum WNW direction, so it’s not going to line up well. The period lengthens into the high teens and even the 20s for a couple of days, which is a very long period groundswell, but with the wrong wind and direction, it’s just a waste.

Now, we get to a glimmer of hope. The standout recommendation is Tuesday afternoon, July 28th. The forecast says the wind will go glassy, and the swell will be 4 ft from the SSW with a period of 18 seconds. The combined energy is a solid 1166, which is moderate to strong. This is the best offer on the table. The swell is big enough to be fun, but it’s over 5 ft, so it might be a bit much for beginners. The glassy wind will make it clean, but it’s a long period swell, which can be a bit straight at beach breaks, but for a point break like Indicators, it should be decent. The direction is SSW, which is not the optimum WNW, but the quality of the wind and swell might make up for it.

The window is tight. Wednesday afternoon July 29th also has glassy conditions with a 3 ft SSW swell, combined energy of 734. That’s a good session, but not as good as the Tuesday. After that, it fades back into small, onshore-slanted conditions.

So, honestly, the best of the lot is the glassy Tuesday afternoon session on July 28th. It’s the only time the stars almost align. The rest of the 16-day window is a waiting game. Don’t hold your breath for the rest.

Rusty.

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