Manly-South Steyne Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G'day, it's Rusty. Let's have a look at what's on the cards for Manly-South Steyne. It's a bit of a mixed bag, with a slow start, a big, wild blow-up in the middle, and then some promising clean-up at the very end of the window.

The action kicks off on Thursday, the 9th of July. The morning is your best bet early on. We've got a solid 6ft swell rolling in from the SE with a long 10-second period, giving it some decent push. The combined energy is moderate (829). The wind is a light cross-off from the SSW, which will keep the surface clean. The water temp is 64°, which is pretty normal for this time of year. It's a good, clean start.

Friday, the 10th, keeps that run going. The swell drops slightly to 6ft, but it's still from the SE and the period is a punchy 9 to 10 seconds. The wind is light and cross-off again, making for clean conditions both morning and afternoon. This is a solid little stretch of surf.

The weekend starts to fade. Saturday morning, the 11th, has a smaller 4ft SE swell, but the wind is a light cross-off from the NW, so it's clean. The combined energy drops to moderate (370). It's surfable, but nothing special. Saturday afternoon goes downhill with a cross-on wind. Sunday, the 12th, is a write-off – tiny and weak, despite the wind going offshore.

Then we hit a massive lull. From Monday the 13th through to the 14th, the swell is pathetic, under 2ft. It's a flat spell, with a few days of almost nothing to ride.

Things get *very* interesting, but not in a good way, from Wednesday the 15th of July. A huge swell kicks in, but it's accompanied by gale-force cross-shore winds. By Wednesday afternoon, we're looking at a 10ft SSE swell shot through with a 31 mph cross-wind. The combined energy is strong (1062). This is absolute chaos. This just gets bigger and messier through the 16th and 17th, with 16ft swell and 28 mph winds. The combined energy hits very strong (5494). This is not for paddle surfing; this is a full-on, proper storm surf, and it's a mess. It's really only for the most experienced, and even then, the wind is going to ruin it. It's more of a kite-surfing setup than anything else.

The swell finally starts to drop from Sunday the 19th, but the wind is still cross-shore, making it lumpy.

The real stand-out, the one you want to circle, is Wednesday the 22nd of July. After the chaos, the wind finally swings offshore and clean. We've got a solid 12ft SE swell with a 9-second period. The combined energy is strong (1913). The wind is a clean 16 mph offshore from the west. This is the best of the whole outlook. It's big, it's powerful, and it will be clean. However, it's over 8ft, so this is expert territory only. It's a long way out, so keep an eye on it, but it looks like a ripper.

After that, Friday the 24th of July is another one to watch. The swell drops to a more manageable 7ft from the ESE with an 11-second period, and the wind is light from the NW, then going glassy in the afternoon. That's a beautiful window for a serious session.

So, the pick of the bunch is the 22nd for the big, clean, offshore bomb, and the 24th for the slightly smaller, clean, glassy conditions. The middle of the window is a write-off from the storm. Be patient.

Rusty out.

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