Inside Reef (Hikkaduwa) Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, I’m Rusty. Let’s have a look at what’s coming up for Inside Reef (Hikkaduwa). Honestly, the outlook through this 16-day window is pretty grim. The wind is almost always howling from the west, sitting right on the nose or cross-on, and the swell direction is mostly from the west or southwest – which is the wrong side for this reef. The water temperature is sitting at 29°, which is about average for this time of year, so no surprises there.

The first half of the window is a write-off. From Saturday 11 July right through to Wednesday 22 July, every session is rated poor. The swell comes in anywhere from 2ft to 6ft, but the wind is a relentless cross-on or onshore, and the surf is described as choppy or lumpy. The combined swell energy is moderate to strong (1103 for the first Saturday afternoon, dropping to the 800s), but it doesn’t matter because the quality is just not there. On Monday 13 July morning, there’s a tiny 2ft swell with a very long period of 21 seconds – that’s a groundswell, but it’s coming from the wrong direction and the wind is straight cross-on. No good.

After a long gap of about 10 days of poor surf, we finally get a glimmer on Wednesday 22 July afternoon. The swell is 4ft from the south, period 13 seconds, and the combined energy is 1003 – still moderate. But the wind is still cross-on, and the report says “marginal surf forecast or questionable tide conditions.” It’s a 1/10 at best. Thursday 23 July afternoon has a 5ft west-northwest swell with 11-second period and energy of 1169, and again it’s a marginal call. The best on offer in this whole stretch is probably Friday 24 July afternoon: 5ft from the west, 10-second period, with the wind switching onshore and energy at 1195. But it’s still only a 1/10, and the wind is onshore, not offshore. Not a standout.

If I had to pick one session that’s the least bad, it’s that Friday 24 July afternoon. But honestly, this is a reef that needs clean offshore winds and a decent south-southwest to southwest swell. The swell direction is mostly wrong, and the wind is always a problem. The setup looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing most days. There’s a gap of about 10 days with no real recommendations, and even when the swell picks up in the second week (20 July onward has 5ft to 6ft south swells with energy up to 2269), the wind and direction still kill it. Disappointing.

Rusty.

Read more