Junkyards Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let's break down what we've got coming up at Junkyards. This is a reef setup, exposed to the open ocean swell. The water's sitting at 83°F, which is about average for this time of year, nothing unusual there.

The next couple of days are a bit of a mixed bag. Tuesday morning is a write-off with light cross-onshore breeze and only 2ft of weak, short-period swell. The energy is barely there at 150. It’s a struggle just to get a ripple. Tuesday afternoon picks up a touch to 4ft from the SE, and the combined swell energy jumps to 800 (moderate), but it's still cross-onshore. It's a marginal call.

Wednesday 8 July is where it starts getting interesting. Morning sees the swell building to 7ft from the SE, with a long 17-second period. The wind goes cross-offshore, and the combined energy is a solid 2317 (strong). The water cleans up nicely. By Wednesday afternoon, it gets even better. The wind turns fully offshore at 12 mph, the swell pushes to 8ft, again from SE, and the energy skyrockets to 3090 (strong). This is excellent, clean surf for experienced surfers. The long period means the waves will have good shape and power, but at a reef break like this, the long gaps between sets will make the paddle out a bit easier.

Thursday 9 July gets bigger and rowdier. The swell jumps to 12ft in the morning and 13ft in the afternoon from the SE, with a massive combined energy reading of 7054 and 8799 (very strong). The period is still a long 16 seconds. This is proper, heavy groundswell. However, the wind is a fresh offshore breeze (18-22 mph), and there's a risk of thunderstorms. This is expert territory only. Anything over 8ft is for experts, and this is well over that mark. The setup starts looking more interesting for kitesurfing than paddle surfing in these conditions.

Friday 10 July and Saturday 11 July is the standout event, but with a massive caveat. We are looking at colossal swell. Friday morning hits 31ft from the SE with a period of 18 seconds, and the combined energy reads a staggering 94998 (very strong). Friday afternoon drops slightly to 28ft from the SSE, and Saturday holds at 26ft and 21ft from the South. The wind is a strong cross-offshore, keeping things clean, but the sheer size makes this unsurfable by any normal measure for paddle surfing. The data says it's too big for this break. This is a true big-wave event, and it's not a recommendation for a standard surf session.

After that peak, it drops. Sunday 12 July through Wednesday 22 July sees a steady decline. Sunday and Monday drop to 8ft-10ft from the SSE, but the wind turns cross-shore, making it lumpy and choppy. The period drops to 9 seconds, meaning weaker, wind-affected waves. The energy drops below 1000 by Monday afternoon. Through the rest of the week and into the next, the swell stays in the 3ft to 6ft range with short periods and poor, choppy conditions. There's a brief flash on Friday 17 July morning where we see 8ft from the SE with a 10-second period and light ESE winds keeping it clean, giving a window of "excellent surf conditions for experienced surfers" (energy 1161), but it's isolated. By Monday 20 July the wind goes offshore, but the swell drops to 4ft.

Overall, the best bet is Wednesday 8 July afternoon. That's your window for clean, powerful, offshore waves at 8ft. The following Friday 10 July and Saturday 11 July are monster swells for the truly dedicated and equipped big-wave specialists only, but for the average surfer, it's a no-go. The rest of the period is poor to marginal.

Rusty, signing off.

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