Inside Reef (Hikkaduwa) Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Yeah, look, I’m not gonna sugarcoat it. The next couple of weeks are looking pretty grim around here. We’ve got a solid run of onshore westerlies that are just gonna chop up whatever swell is out there. The water’s sitting at 83°, which is about a degree and a half warmer than usual for this time of year, so it’s warm, but that’s about the only positive.

The forecast starts off with a few days of nothing worth paddling out for. We’re looking at a gap of about five days from now until the surf starts to show any kind of life. The first real recommendation doesn’t come until Tuesday the 12th, and even then it’s marginal at best. The swell is there, around 4ft, coming from the S with a short period of 11 seconds, but the wind is still cross-onshore at 12 mph, making it a bumpy mess. There’s some moderate energy in the water, around 1062, but it’s just not gonna be clean.

The outlook stays pretty much the same for the next few days. We see some S/SSE swell pushing through, but the westerly wind doesn’t let up. There are a few more marginal calls on Thursday afternoon the 14th and Saturday the 16th, but honestly, you’re just gonna be fighting the chop. The energy is moderate, with readings between 977 and 1307, but it’s not translating into anything rideable with the onshores.

The wind finally starts to ease a bit on the 17th, but the swell gets a bit disorganised, coming from the W with a short, weak period of 10 seconds. It’s still poor.

Then, we finally see something interesting. On Tuesday the 18th, the swell picks up and swings back around to the SSW. The afternoon sees a solid 6ft of swell with a much better 20-second period, and the energy jumps up to a strong 3490. This is the standout of the whole window. The break is Inside Reef (Hikkaduwa), a heavy reef setup that’s fairly consistent and exposed to this SSW groundswell. The direction is spot on for it. The only problem is that it’s still cross-on, so it’s going to be a bit lumpy, but the power and the period will be there. This is for experienced surfers only, though. At 6ft on a reef, with that kind of energy, it’s not a day for the faint-hearted.

The swell holds the next morning, Wednesday the 19th, but it jumps up to 8ft. That’s getting into expert territory, and it’s still cross-on. The energy is very strong, hitting 3916. It could be charging, but it’s going to be wild and unruly. After that, it backs off a touch into Thursday the 20th, but the wind stays on it, keeping things messy.

So, the long and short of it is: there’s a lot of nothing to wade through for over a week. But if you’re an advanced surfer and you’re willing to wait, that Tuesday the 18th has some serious potential. It’s a long-range call, so don’t book your flights yet, but it’s the one day in the whole window that’s got me excited. Everything else is just a battle with the wind.

Rusty

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