Lighthouse Beach Port Macquarie Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, it’s Rusty. Let’s have a look at what’s on offer for Lighthouse Beach Port Macquarie over the next couple of weeks. Straight up, the outlook is a mixed bag – there’s a solid pulse of swell early on, but the winds and conditions are messy for most of it. The standout window is a narrow one, so you’ll need to be sharp.

The water temp is about average for this time of year. Nothing to write home about.

We kick things off on Wednesday, 8 July, with a decent size swell rolling in – 3.0m from the SE with an 11-second period. That’s some proper energy in the water (combined energy 2354). But don’t get too excited yet; we’ve got a southerly breeze at 15 km/h putting a cross-onshore bump on it, making for choppy, marginal conditions. It’s a raw, powerful ocean, but not clean. The swell holds through Thursday, 9 July, at 2.3m from the SE with a 10-second period, but the wind stays cross-onshore, and we’ve got rain showers to deal with. The combined energy is still strong (1918 Thursday morning), but the surface is lumpy. Not the day for trim.

Friday, 10 July, the swell eases to a more manageable 1.8m from the SE, but still cross-shore winds keep it bumpy. We are waiting for the real window.

Here’s the standout: Saturday, 11 July morning. The swell drops to 0.9m from the ESE, but this is where the magic happens. A light NNW breeze at 5 km/h gives us clean, cross-offshore conditions. Combined energy is moderate (529), but it’s the quality that counts – expect very good surf conditions. This is the pick of the forecast. The 12-second period (ESE optimum direction) means longer lines and better shape. Keep an eye on the crowd situation though – it can get busy here, so get in early.

After that, from Sunday, 12 July onwards, the energy drops away drastically. We’re looking at a long gap of tiny, weak surf with low energy readings (down to 41 on Tuesday, 14 July). Winds are clean at times (glassy on the 14th and the 20th), but the swell is just too small to paddle properly – 0.3m and 0.6m with short periods. It’s not worth the rubber.

The second week sees a brief spike on Thursday, 16 July morning – 2.4m from the S with a 10-second period and strong energy (2000), but the wind swings to a moderate cross-shore at 25 km/h, creating a cross-chop. It’s powerful but ugly. The following days are dominated by fresh, lumpy cross-onshore winds and windswell, with poor conditions through to the 23rd.

Bottom line: Saturday morning, 11 July is your one true shot for clean, fun waves. The rest is either too blown out or too flat. No other breaks to compare – this is the only game in town.

Rusty.

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