Main Reef (Hikkaduwa) Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here, looking at what’s cooking for the next couple of weeks. Honestly, it’s a tough stretch ahead. The whole 16-day window is one long blank run with no decent surf on offer. The first proper recommendation doesn’t even show up until the 20th of July, and even then, it’s only a marginal call. That’s a solid six-day gap with nothing worth paddling out for.

Let's start with the only spot on the radar, Main Reef (Hikkaduwa). The water here is sitting at a warm 83°, which is about average for the time of year, so nothing weird there. The swell direction is coming from the SW, which is more or less side-on to the optimum SW direction, so that’s not the issue. The problem is the wind. It’s blowing from the W at 15 mph, which is cross-on or onshore for most of the period, and the wave comment says it the same over and over: “poor surf conditions.” The waves are small, mostly below 3 ft, with short periods in the 7 to 14-second range, meaning weak, choppy, and gutless. The combined energy readings are all over the place, from 394 to 1129, but the quality is just not there.

The one tiny glimmer is on Monday the 20th of July, in the afternoon. A 5 ft swell from the SSW at 17 seconds, with a combined energy of 1598, which is a solid pulse of energy. But the wind is cross-on at 12 mph from the WNW, the comment says “marginal surf forecast or questionable tide conditions,” and the score is a 1 out of 10. It’s the only thing that even gets a score, but it’s still not a call to get excited about. That’s it. That’s your best option in the whole window.

For the rest, it’s all “poor surf conditions” or “risk tstorm” days. The wind never cleans up, it’s almost always onshore or cross-on, and the swell is too small and weak to do anything with. It’s the kind of setup that’s more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing, with the wind and chop making it messy.

So, bottom line: there’s nothing to recommend for the next 16 days. This area tends to see these blank runs, so it’s not unexpected. Forecasts can change, but right now, I’d leave the boards at home.

Rusty.

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