Mainside Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s coming up for Mainside.

First off, the water is sitting at 81°F at the start of the period, which is a bit colder than what we’d usually expect for this time of year, so maybe grab a slightly thicker springy if you’re sensitive to it.

Honestly, the outlook is pretty grim for the first week and a half. We’re staring down a long stretch of barely anything rideable. From Wednesday the 15th right through to the morning of Tuesday the 22nd, it’s just one poor surf call after another. Tiny swell, mostly under 3ft, with short, weak periods around 5 to 7 seconds. The wind is mostly cross or cross-onshore, and the wave energy is low – we’re talking values like 26 (weak) up to 89 (weak) on the 19th. Not worth getting wet.

Then there’s a little glimmer on the morning of Tuesday the 22nd – it’s glassy, but the swell is only 0.7ft. That’s a flat spell, not a session. The afternoon of Thursday the 23rd finally shows a pulse of 2ft swell from the west with a period of 8 seconds, and the wind is glassy that morning. The energy is still only 65 (weak), and the wave comment says “surfable waves but very ordinary conditions.” It’s a one-star rating at best, so it’s barely a paddler.

The real standout, and the only thing worth circling on the calendar, is the morning of Thursday the 30th of July. That’s a full 16 days away, so it’s a long-range promise, but it’s a big one. We’re looking at a 20ft swell from the north, with a period of 11 seconds. The wind is cross-offshore from the SSE at 37 mph, which is a gale-force breeze, but it’s clean. The combined energy is a massive 13743 (strong), but the wave comment still says “poor surf conditions.” That’s because the wind is howling, and that’s a serious problem. For a spot like Mainside, an exposed reef, that much north swell and that much wind is going to be a washing machine. This setup would be a lot more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing. It’s an expert-only look if you’ve got the balls and the gear, but honestly, for a standard surfer, it’s a pass.

The following afternoon, the 30th, drops to 13ft swell from the north with a 12-second period, but the wind is still a gale from the SSE at 40 mph. Clean but ballistic. Still not for the faint-hearted.

So, to wrap it up: there’s nothing worth your time until the 23rd, and even that’s a weak, ordinary day. The 30th has the size but not the conditions. A blank run like this is pretty normal for this area when the pattern is this stubborn.

Rusty.

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