Lake Ferry Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G'day, Rusty here, your local surf reporter. Let's be straight with each other – the next two weeks for Lake Ferry are a tough watch. We're looking at a long drought before anything surfable shows up, and even then, it’s not for the faint-hearted. The water's sitting at about 53° right now, which is a bit colder than normal for this time of year, so you’ll want a good steamer.

The forecast is pretty grim to start. There’s a run of days with nothing worth paddling out for. From now through the rest of this week and into the next, we've got a mix of tiny, messy junk and big, wind-blown slop. Sunday morning the 5th sees a tiny 0.7ft easterly windswell with weak energy (14), and it only gets worse. Monday the 6th actually brings a 10ft south-southwest swell, but it's 30 km/h cross-onshore wind and a short period of 7 seconds – it's a roiled-up mess with moderate energy (890), better suited for kite surfing than a paddle session. That trend continues through Thursday the 9th, where a 15ft southerly swell with strong energy (3968) is hammered by 40 km/h cross-onshore winds. Choppy and dangerous – not for the average surfer.

Then we hit a gap. From Friday the 10th through Sunday the 13th, the swell drops but the winds stay onshore and the conditions are poor. Monday the 14th is the first real stand-out, but there's a catch. Tuesday the 14th looks promising with a 12ft south-southwest swell and glassy conditions in the afternoon, but the file says the swell is predicted to be too big for this break – it's a sandbar setup at Lake Ferry, so anything over 8ft is expert-only, and 12ft is pushing it hard. If you're a solid, experienced surfer who knows the lake, this could be one of the few moments with clean, glassy faces, but the combined energy is very strong (2344). Not a day for beginners.

Wednesday the 15th morning offers a nice turnaround: a 6ft south-southwest swell with clean offshore winds from the NNE (10 km/h). That’s a comfortable size for most, with moderate energy (976), but the break is inconsistent and rarely breaks consistently, so you’ll need patience. Thursday the 16th is tiny again. Friday the 17th afternoon is another highlight – a 4ft south-southwest swell with a long period of 15 seconds and light cross-offshore winds. That’s proper groundswell energy (853), but with that long period, it might break straight on a beach break like this sandbar. Still, clean conditions could make it worth a look for the experienced.

After that, the wind picks up again and the weekend of the 19th fizzles out to nothing. Overall, if you’re keen, the best bets are Tuesday the 14th for experts only in glassy conditions, and Wednesday morning the 15th for a cleaner, more manageable window. But don't expect a classic – Lake Ferry is a fickle spot, and this forecast shows why.

Rusty

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