Lighthouse Reef Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Righto, let’s have a look at what’s on the cards for Lighthouse Reef. It’s a beach-and-reef setup that needs an easterly-northeasterly swell direction to really fire, but we’ve got a bit of a mixed bag ahead.

The next couple of days are a write-off, to be honest. Saturday the 25th is a dud with poor conditions, a messy cross-off wind from the SW at 25 km/h, and the water is sitting at 49°, which is pretty standard for this time of year. Not worth a look.

Things start to get interesting from Sunday morning the 26th, even if it’s not a classic. That morning sees a solid glass-off with a W wind at just 5 km/h, and we get a long-period groundswell pushing in at 2 ft from the ESE with a period of 15 seconds. Now, that long period combined with the combined swell energy of 179 means there’s some decent power, but with that swell direction at a reef and beach break, it might be a bit too straight for the beach. The wind is clean, though, so it’s worth a paddle if you’re keen.

Monday the 27th and Tuesday the 28th build a little more. Tuesday morning the 28th is actually a standout for the early part of this outlook. We’ve got a clean NW wind at 10 km/h, 3 ft of ESE swell at 13 seconds, and the combined energy is a solid 356 – that’s proper moderate-strong power. The wind is cross-off and clean. That’s the best of the first week, bar none. The only thing to whisper is that the optimum swell for this break is from the ENE, and we’ve got ESE, so it’s not a perfect angle, but the quality is there. Crowds are possible here, so keep an eye out.

The rest of the week tails off. Wednesday the 29th is okay but nothing special, and by Thursday the 30th we’re back to very ordinary surf. There’s a big gap of poor to flat conditions from Friday the 31st right through to Sunday the 2nd of August. Sunday afternoon the 2nd is worth a mention, though – a glassy afternoon with a 2 ft SSE groundswell at 14 seconds, clean, and a combined energy of 204. That’s a surprise little window of clean, workable surf if you can sneak out.

Then we hit another rough patch. Monday the 3rd of August gets hammered by a strong S wind at 40 km/h, making it a choppy, cross-shore mess. Not for paddling. That kind of wind and swell setup actually looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing. The next few days after that are mostly poor until we get a nice-looking window on Wednesday morning the 5th of August. That morning has a WSW cross-off wind at 15 km/h, 3 ft of SE groundswell with a long period of 15 seconds, and a combined energy of 348. That’s a good, clean, powerful swell. Again, the direction isn’t the absolute optimum, but it’s close enough.

Thursday morning the 6th of August is also clean with a cross-off SW wind at 5 km/h and 2 ft SE swell at 16 seconds – very long period. Combined energy of 249 suggests good energy, but with that long period and an onshore wind in the afternoon, you want to be out early. After that, the surf fades away into the second week, with only tiny, weak, or poor conditions through to the 9th of August. The second week is a flat, quiet run with nothing to get excited about.

All in all, the standout looks to be Tuesday morning the 28th of July, with Wednesday the 5th of August a good close second. The rest is a case of picking the clean windows when the wind drops.

Rusty.

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