Mainside Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, mates, Rusty here. Let’s be real with you. I’ve looked at the charts for our stretch of coast, and honestly, it’s a bit of a heartbreaker for the next couple of weeks. We’ve got one solid window of proper surf, but the rest is mostly flat or junk. Let’s walk through it.

The Long Wait and the One Good Window

For the first few days, it’s not even worth paddling out. Friday the 7th is a total mess with a severe gale blowing and a big, stormy 20ft swell that has no shape to it. That’s a full pass. Saturday and Sunday (the 8th and 9th) see the swell drop right out, leaving tiny 2ft dribblers with onshore breezes. Nothing doing. We’ve got a flat spell that runs right through the middle of the week, with a few days of barely-ankle-biters. It’s a proper lull, probably a 5-day gap with no real, rideable surf.

Then, Monday the 10th rolls around. This is our one true standout of the whole window. A new W/NW swell fills in overnight. The energy jumps up to a strong 1694 reading early Monday morning. We’re looking at a solid 7ft of swell on Monday morning with a 13-second period. That’s proper groundswell energy. The wind is a cross-offshore SSE breeze, but it’s only 25 mph, which will keep the surface reasonably clean. This is the day to go if you can. As the day goes on, it backs off a bit to 6ft in the afternoon, but it’s still workable. The water temp is sitting at 86° which is about a degree and a half warmer than the long-term average – not crazy, but you’ll notice it’s a touch balmy.

The Aftermath and More Flatness

Tuesday the 11th is a fade-out, back down to 3ft. After that, we are back to the desert. From the 12th through the 19th, there’s just nothing. We're looking at more than a week of dribble. The swell is under 3ft, and the winds are mostly light and cross-offshore, which would be great if there were any waves, but there aren't. The 16th has some long-period ENE swell at 12 seconds, but the height is only 1ft. It’s a tease. The energy readings are all in the low double-digits, which is about as weak as it gets.

The Light at the End, But It’s Faint

The week after, around the 20th and 21st, we do get some proper offshore winds from the ESE and E, which is a good sign, but the swell is basically non-existent. The 20th has a strong offshore breeze that will make for clean but completely unsurfable conditions. There’s talk of a tiny 2ft bump, but it’s not enough to get excited about. The only thing that might be interesting is if that offshore wind starts to groom some of the small lumps into a rideable shape, but it’s a gamble. There’s nothing on the charts to suggest it will get better before the end of the forecast period.

So, there you have it. One solid morning on Monday the 10th at Mainside, and then a whole lot of nothing. If you get the chance, be out there for dawn patrol Monday. Otherwise, it might be time to wax the fish and go for a paddle, or take up kite-surfing for the next week, because the onshore wind on some of those days will at least have some fun. The forecast can always change, so keep an eye on it.

Stay stoked,

Rusty

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