Joss Bay Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let’s be straight with you: the next two weeks are looking pretty bleak for a paddle. We’ve got a long stretch of tiny, weak waves and poor conditions, so don’t get your hopes up.

The first and only break on the radar is Joss Bay. The water temperature is sitting at 68°, which is a massive 7° warmer than usual for this time of year – that’s really unusual, feels more like a bath than the English Channel.

Starting from Sunday the 19th of July, we’ve got a tiny 2ft swell from the NE, but it’s short-period (8 seconds) and cross-on. The combined energy is only 69 (weak), and the wind is ruining it. Conditions are poor with a gentle cross-onshore breeze. The next few days don’t get any better. Monday the 20th sees a 3ft NNE swell, but the period drops to a pathetic 4 seconds, and it’s choppy. Tuesday the 21st is even smaller, with 2ft and a period of just 4 seconds – total mush. Combined energy is down to 10.

We go through a whole run of mornings and afternoons with nothing worth mentioning. The swell barely reaches 2ft, the energy stays in the single digits or low twenties, and the wind is cross-on or onshore, keeping the surface messy. The highlight of this whole period might be Friday the 24th, when the wind goes cross-off and the surf is clean, but the swell is a pathetic 1.0ft to 1ft. There’s no energy to work with.

We get a bit of a break on Monday the 27th of July. The morning looks glassy – a rare moment – with a 2ft N swell and a period of 4 seconds. The energy is still very weak (8), but that glassy wind is a major positive. If you’re desperate, you could get a longboard out for a few knee-high dribblers. But it’s inconsistent, and it doesn’t last.

After that, we’re back to flat or near-flat conditions. Tuesday the 28th has a fresh offshore wind, but no swell at all (0 combined energy). The rest of the month and into August is a graveyard of readings: 0.3ft, 0.7ft, and flat spells. The combined energy is often 0 or 1. The wind is often onshore or cross-on, and there’s a stretch from the 28th of July to the 3rd of August where the swell is essentially non-existent.

This is a long, blank run. For the area, that’s normal when the summer patterns set in. For a kite surfer, the strong cross-off winds on some days (like the 28th) might look interesting, but for a paddle surfer, there’s nothing to get excited about. The best option is a very early morning session on the 27th of July if you want to stand on a board and not get blown off it. Otherwise, save your energy.

Rusty.

Read more