Junkyards Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, let’s get into it. The next two weeks are gonna be a mixed bag here at Junkyards. There’s a heap of energy in the water early on, but it’s coming in with messy wind and a lot of storm risk. Don’t get too excited about the big numbers you might see; it’s not gonna be the clean, lined-up surf we want. We need to be patient.

The big story to start is a pulse of strong SSW swell arriving for Saturday the 8th and into Sunday the 9th. We’re talking a solid 18ft on Saturday afternoon with strong energy, but the wind is a screaming 40 mph southerly. That’s gale-force, cross-shore and ragged. Sunday morning drops to 10ft but it’s still cross and messy with a strong breeze, and drops to around 11ft in the afternoon. There is serious power here, but it’s not for the faint of heart, and it’s not gonna be fun. It’s more of a spectacle than a surf. The water is sitting at 86°, which is a touch warmer than normal for this time of year, so you won't need a wetsuit, that's for sure.

Things settle down a little as we move into Monday the 10th and Tuesday the 11th. The swell backs off to the 5ft to 8ft range, but we're still dealing with a cross-shore wind and that cross-chop, so it’s only marginal. You can find some waves, but it’ll be a fight, and the conditions are just not clean. The score is low, so it’s not worth skipping work for.

Then we get a little flash of hope on Wednesday the 12th. The swell drops to around 5ft from the SSW, the wind goes glassy in the afternoon, and the energy is weak. It’s a brief window of clean conditions, but the swell is small. It's a semi-glassy chance to get wet without getting thrashed, but it's not a standout.

Thursday the 13th and Friday the 14th look a touch cleaner with a light cross-off breeze, but the swell has really died down to under 3ft. It’s ankle to knee-high stuff, very marginal, with energy readings dropping off a cliff. You’d be chasing whitewash on a log, to be honest.

After that, we hit a long flat spell. From Saturday the 15th through the middle of the next week, from the 16th through the 21st, we’re looking at tiny waves, mostly under 3ft, with a mix of variable winds, some onshore, some light offshore. There are a few days with glassy conditions, like the 18th, but with swell that small it’s just not worth the paddle. The energy readings are weak. There’s not a single decent wave on offer here. It's a proper blank run, which isn't unusual for this area when the trade winds and the swell window just don't line up.

Things finally show a hint of life right at the very end of the window, around Saturday the 22nd and Sunday the 23rd. On the 22nd, we get a pulse of around 4ft from the SSE, but the period is short and the wind is a fresh cross-off. It’s still pretty poor. But then Sunday the 23rd, the wind turns offshore from the ENE, blowing at 10-15 mph. The swell is a small 3ft from the SSE, and the energy is weak, but at least it’s clean. It’s a small, clean end to a pretty poor stretch. It’s not a stand-out, just a "grab the shortboard and have a little fun" type of day.

So, overall, there is no true standout in this whole period. The early big swell is blown out and the long middle section is flat. The only thing I’d keep an eye on is that Wednesday morning, the 12th, if you just need to get in the water, and maybe the last day, the 23rd, which looks like the cleanest surf of the run, even if it’s small. It’s a patience game, folks. It won’t stay this bad for long.

Rusty

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