Jailbreaks Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Hey, Rusty here. Let’s be straight – the next couple weeks start off real slow. There’s a big gap before we see anything worth paddling out for. The first hint of a wave isn’t until Sunday the 12th of July, and even that’s a tease. For the first ten days or so, the surf is tiny, with swell heights between 2ft and 3ft and periods all over the shop. The cross-offshore winds are steady but the energy is weak – the combined energy (225 to 597) is moderate at best, and the notes say it’s marginal or poor. It’s a waiting game.

The real window to get excited about is Friday the 17th of July. That’s the one. Early morning, we’ve got a clean 4ft SW groundswell hitting Jailbreaks (a reef break, advanced only). The period is a very long 18 seconds, so this is pure groundswell with heaps of energy – the combined energy is 1062, which is strong. The wind is glassy, dead calm from the SW at just 3 mph. That’s as clean as it gets for a tricky reef like this. It’s an exposed spot, with optimum swell from the S, and this is coming from the SW, so it’s working nicely.

Right now the water temp is 84°, which is right on average for this time of year – no anomaly to speak of.

Later that same Friday afternoon, the swell holds at 4ft from the SW with a 16-second period, and the combined energy jumps to 1182 (strong). The wind turns to a light cross-off from the WSW at 6 mph, keeping it clean.

Jailbreaks is listed as fairly consistent, which for a reef break is a good sign. Crowds are listed as ‘sometimes,’ so you might find a few others out there, but with it being an advanced-only wave, it won’t be a circus. This is the only real standout in the whole 16-day run. The week before is pretty much a write-off for decent surf.

Rusty.

Read more