Keramas Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at the next couple of weeks at Keramas. It’s a reef break that’s very consistent, and the swell’s got a sweet SSW direction lining up with what it loves. But fair warning – the first week is a mess. Cross-onshore winds every day, mostly from the SE, chopping things up. The water’s sitting at about 81°F which is pretty much average for this time of year – no weird anomaly to report.

Starting from Saturday 25 July morning, we’ve got a 4ft SSW swell with a long 15-second period, so there’s groundswell energy in the water (combined energy 990 – moderate). But the wind is cross-on from the SE at 9 mph, and it’s just poor quality, choppy and bumpy. That carries through the afternoon. Sunday 26 July jumps to 7ft, but it’s short-period SE windswell at 9 seconds and the wind is up to 12 mph cross-on – not worth paddling out. Monday 27 is more of the same: 7ft with 8-second period, choppy as hell. Tuesday 28 drops to 3ft but has a beautiful 16-second SSW groundswell – still trashed by cross-onshore wind though. Wednesday 29 and Thursday 30 are in the 4–5ft range, SSW direction, moderate energy (880–1331), but still cross-onshore. Friday 31 July morning shows a 3ft 18-second SSW groundswell, energy at 1197, and the wind drops to 9 mph – still cross-on, but the lighter breeze means it’s only fairly choppy. That’s the first real hint of improvement. The afternoon gets even lighter at 6 mph, still cross-on, but with small wind ripples.

Now, Saturday 1 August and Sunday 2 August are where it starts getting interesting. Saturday morning has a 4ft SSW 16-second swell, energy at 1511 (moderate-strong), and the wind is light at 6 mph cross-on. By afternoon, the swell builds to 6ft, same long period, energy jumps to 1888. Sunday 2 August morning pushes 5ft with 16-second period, and the combined energy is a solid 3373 – that’s strong wave energy. The wind is still light cross-on, so it’s rideable but not glassy. These two days are the best of the early run, but they’re not standouts because the cross-on wind stops it from being pristine.

The real standout comes later. Monday 3 August has 6ft SSW 16-second groundswell, energy at 1701, wind still cross-on 9 mph. But then look at Tuesday 4 August morning – for the first time, the wind goes true offshore from the SE at 9 mph with a 5ft SSW 14-second swell (energy 1359). The afternoon stays cross-on though. Wednesday 5 August morning also has offshore wind, 6ft SSW 14-second swell (energy 1116). Thursday 6 August through to Friday 7 August all have offshore winds from the SSE, with swell heights 5–6ft and periods up to 18 seconds. Friday 7 August afternoon sees a 5ft SSW 18-second groundswell with strong energy at 2345.

But the absolute highlight is Saturday 8 August. Morning: 8ft SSW 17-second groundswell, combined energy a massive 3896 (strong), with light cross-on wind. The afternoon session gets even better – same 8ft swell, 17-second period, energy at 4206, and the wind turns offshore from the SE at 9 mph. That’s expert territory size-wise (over 8ft), so it’s for the skilled crew only. That’s a proper big, clean, groundswell day at Keramas with offshore wind – the best on offer in the whole 16-day window. Sunday 9 August hangs on with 8–7ft SSW 16-second swell, still decent but the wind is cross-on again in the morning, then offshore in the afternoon.

Crowds are possible at Keramas, so get in early for that Saturday 8 August session. This reef will be handling that long-period SSW groundswell beautifully.

Rusty.

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