Lake Ferry Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, I’m Rusty, and I’ve been squinting at the charts for Lake Ferry, trying to sort out if we’re gonna get any waves worth paddling for. To be honest, the next 16 days are a mixed bag – there’s a few windows of hope, but also some stretches where you’d be better off staying home.

The first real chance to surf comes on Thursday morning the 10th, but honestly, it’s a bit of a letdown. We’ve got a tiny 0.7 ft SSW swell, with a period of 14 seconds carrying some deep-water energy (combined energy: 35). It’s weak, watery stuff, and with a 25 km/h NW wind blowing cross-off, it’s not doing the break any favours. The water’s sitting at 56°, which is a touch warmer than normal for this time of year. Thursday afternoon sees the swell bump up to 5 ft, but that’s a short-period 6-second wind swell from the SSW with moderate energy (219), and the wind swings onshore from the SSW at 25 km/h, making it a washout.

Friday the 11th isn’t much better. The morning offers a 3 ft SSW swell with a very long period of 17 seconds, and that gives it a decent moderate energy reading (458), but with a light NNW breeze it stays clean. It’s marginal at best – small, inconsistent, and the tide needs to play ball. The afternoon drops to 1 ft, still with that long period.

Now, here’s something to get a little fired up about. Saturday the 12th morning, we have a noticeable jump. The swell comes in at 6 ft from the SSW with a period of 16 seconds – that’s a proper groundswell with strong wave energy (1432). The wind goes glassy – 5 km/h from the ESE – and the surface is glassy. This is excellent for experienced surfers; the sets will have some punch, but the long period means it might be a bit straight at the sandbar. The crowd factor is “sometimes,” so you could have a few mates out but nothing crazy.

Saturday afternoon, the swell cranks up to 10 ft from the SSW at 14 seconds, with very strong energy (3156). The wind is a light cross-onshore from the S at 10 km/h, but mate, that’s too big for this spot. This is expert-only, and the setup is borderline dangerous so I’d be very careful.

Sunday the 13th sees the swell drop to 7 ft in the morning with a light onshore SSW breeze – still big, still tricky. The energy is strong (1568), but with onshore wind and questionable tides, it’s a marginal call. The afternoon drops to 6 ft.

Monday the 14th shapes up nicely. Morning brings a 6 ft SSW swell with a 12-second period and moderate-strong energy (805), plus a light offshore breeze from the N at 10 km/h. That’s clean, lined-up waves. The afternoon drops to 5 ft from the S, still with clean conditions and a light cross-off wind. This is a solid day.

After Monday, there’s a real lull. Tuesday the 15th, the swell drops to 3 ft, and by the afternoon it’s 2 ft with a 30 km/h NW wind – poor. Wednesday and Thursday are flat and poor. This gap of no real surf runs from late Tuesday right through to the end of the week.

The next standout I can see is on Sunday the 20th. The morning offers a 7 ft S swell at 10 seconds, with moderate-strong energy (839) and a light offshore wind from the N at 15 km/h. That’s clean, fun waves. The afternoon gets messy as the wind picks up to 35 km/h from the NNW.

Monday the 21st is a beast but a problem. The morning has 13 ft from the S at 9 seconds, with very strong energy (2313) and a cross-shore wind. It’s simply too big for Lake Ferry – expert territory only, and even then, the wind and size make it more of a kite-surfing situation.

Tuesday the 22nd is similar: 12 ft swell with very strong energy (2283 to 4714) and onshore/cross-onshore winds. Too big for paddle surfing, and the wind is messy.

After that, Wednesday the 23rd drops back to a manageable 6 ft S swell at 6 seconds, with a light offshore breeze – clean, but short period. The rest of the week fades to small, ordinary surf.

So, if I’m picking the best of the bunch: Sunday morning the 20th is the pick for clean, solid waves, and Monday morning the 14th is a close second for a classic offshore session. The stand-out for pure quality and glassy conditions, though, is Saturday morning the 12th – that 6 ft groundswell with glassy conditions will be the best clean, punchy surf on offer for experienced crew.

Stay safe, and don’t get too excited about the huge stuff later on – that’s strictly for the brave or the kites.

Rusty

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