Mainside Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Look, I’m not gonna sugarcoat it – we’ve got a pretty quiet run ahead at Mainside for the next little while. For the first few days, it’s basically flat or close to it, with barely a bump worth paddling for. That stretch runs from Friday the 31st of July right through until Monday the 3rd of August. You’ll be looking at clean, glassy conditions on Friday morning with the water sitting at a warm 86.0°, about 1.8° warmer than usual for this time of year, but swell’s only 0.7 ft from the east at a short 10 seconds – total energy is just 7, basically nothing.

From Saturday the 1st through to Monday the 3rd, it stays tiny. The odd 0.7 ft east pulse shows up Sunday morning but the period jumps to 19 seconds, and energy’s only 48 – that’s a long period groundswell trying to push through but way too small to do anything at this exposed reef. Winds stay light and mostly onshore or cross-on through that stretch, so it’s not even clean.

Tuesday the 4th is where things start to change. By the morning, we’ve got 4.3 ft east swell with an 18-second period, and energy jumps right up to 1066 – moderate wave energy. The wind’s a cross-shore breeze from the north at 12 mph, so not perfect but it’s surfable. The afternoon gets even better: 4.9 ft east swell still at 19 seconds, energy climbing to 1550, and the wind turns cross-offshore from the northeast at 12 mph, giving clean conditions. That afternoon slot on Tuesday is probably our first real window – it’s not huge, but it’s clean and the swell’s got some push.

Now, Wednesday the 5th ramps up fast but gets messy. Morning sees 7.5 ft east swell, 19-second period, energy at 3588 – that’s strong energy. But the wind’s cross-shore from the north-northeast at 19 mph, lumpy cross-chop, so it’s not pretty. By the afternoon it’s 9.8 ft east at the same period, energy 5674, but the wind’s howling from the north at 25 mph – strong cross-shore with messy cross-chop. That’s only for experienced crew, and even then, it’s not gonna be clean.

Thursday the 6th is when things go nuts – and not in a good way for most. Morning brings 14.8 ft east swell at a very long 20-second period, energy a massive 17282. But the wind is a severe gale from the north-northwest at 53 mph, cross-onshore, totally blown out. Afternoon is worse: 23.0 ft northwest-northwest swell at 11 seconds, energy 19912, with hurricane-force winds from the northwest at 75 mph. This is dangerous, straight up. The reef will be handling that power, but only for the absolute elite, and even then the wind makes it a no-go for paddling.

Friday the 7th calms down wind-wise but the swell’s still massive. Morning has 18.0 ft west-northwest swell at 13 seconds, energy 10960, but the wind’s a storm-force south at 62 mph, cross-offshore – clean but insane. Afternoon is similar, 18.0 ft west swell at 13 seconds, energy 11172, wind a gale from the south-southeast at 43 mph, clean again but only for big-wave specialists.

Saturday the 8th starts to drop. Morning: 8.2 ft west-northwest swell at 12 seconds, energy 1747, with a fresh south-southeast breeze at 22 mph, cross-offshore and clean. Afternoon: 5.2 ft west swell at 11 seconds, energy 624, wind moderate from the south-southeast at 16 mph, still clean. That Saturday afternoon looks like a good option for experienced surfers – clean, dropping swell, manageable size.

Sunday the 9th goes small again: 2.6 ft west swell at

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