Ketewel Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here.

Well, I’ve gotta be straight with you – the next couple of weeks at Ketewel look like a write-off. There’s no surf worth paddling out for right now, and the forecast shows a long stretch of poor conditions. The first decent wave energy doesn’t show up until the morning of Monday the 20th of July, and even then it’s a mess.

The overall pattern is a constant, annoying cross-onshore wind from the ESE or SE, blowing at 9 to 12 mph, which keeps the surface choppy and messy. The swell is mostly from the SSW, with moderate energy readings (around 2267 on Monday morning), but the combination of wind and swell direction doesn’t work in our favour.

From Monday the 20th through to the end of the first week, the surf is either “marginal” or “poor” – that’s nine days straight of nothing to get excited about. The swell does bump up to 7 ft on Monday afternoon, but it’s still cross-onshore and choppy, and the water temp is sitting at 82°, which is about 2° warmer than usual for this time of year – a bit of a warm anomaly.

Into the second week, the same story continues. The swell drops off, the wind stays onshore, and the wave heights linger around 3 ft to 5 ft. The period on some days stretches to 17-18 seconds, which is a proper long-period groundswell, but with the wind ruining it and the direction being all wrong, it’s just a tease. There’s a brief moment on Saturday the 1st of August afternoon where the score nudges up to a marginal 1, with 5 ft SSW swell at 17 seconds and a gentle breeze, but it’s still cross-onshore and fairly choppy – not worth the drive.

The problem is that Ketewel (a reef break for advanced surfers) is inconsistent and sheltered, and it needs a clean offshore wind from the NNW to really shine. Right now, we’re getting the opposite, and the optimum swell direction is from the south, but the wind is just ruining the surface. The combined energy readings are moderate to strong (three-digit and four-digit values), but with no clean wind, it’s irrelevant.

There’s no standout session in the whole 16-day window. This is a blank run – that’s the reality. The setup here looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing, given the consistent cross-onshore wind and moderate swell.

But hey, Ketewel is a spot that can deliver when it’s on, and forecasts can change. For now, I’d leave the board on the roof and wait for a better window.

Rusty.

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