Manly Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what Manly’s got cooking for us over the next couple of weeks.

Right off the bat, we’ve got a solid run of surf coming through, but the first few days are gonna be a bit of a mixed bag. The water temp is about average for this time of year, so no surprises there.

We kick things off Sunday, July 5th, with a chunky 12ft S swell rolling in. That’s a lot of water, pushing strong wave energy (2762). This is definitely expert territory – way too big for beginners. The morning has a fresh offshore wind, so it’ll be clean, but the tide or something is making it marginal. By the afternoon, the wind swings cross-off and picks up, but the swell gets even more grunty (4385). It’s big, but the quality is questionable. For the next two days, Monday and Tuesday, we stay in that 10ft range with moderate winds, but it’s all cross-off and the surf report says it’s marginal. It’s surfable for the experienced crew, but not the best Manly gets.

Things start to settle on Wednesday, July 8th. The swell drops to a still-sizeable 8ft from the SE. The morning has a moderate offshore breeze, making it clean. The wave energy is still strong (2371), but it’s getting more manageable. Thursday and Friday, July 9th and 10th, are where it starts to get interesting for the average surfer. Swell drops to 7ft and then 5ft, with gentle offshore winds. Wave energy is moderate (851 and 453). The description even says “expect good surf conditions.” This is a nice window for the experienced intermediates to get some clean lines.

Then we hit a lull. From Saturday, July 11th, right through to Tuesday, July 14th, it’s pretty flat and poor. Swell bottoms out below 3ft with weak energy. Winds are all over the place, mostly cross or onshore. A few days with absolutely nothing doing. You’d be better off staying at home.

There’s a tiny blip on Wednesday, July 15th. A very long period 1ft S swell (21 secs!) comes in with a moderate offshore wind. That period is incredibly long, so any wave that shows up at a river mouth or reef would be super clean, but there’s just no size. Not worth the paddle.

Now, here’s the standout. Mark your calendars for Friday, July 17th. We’ve got a beautiful 6ft S groundswell with a 12-13 second period. The wave energy is strong (1210). The morning has a gentle cross-off breeze, clean as a whistle. But the real gem is the afternoon: glassy conditions, no wind. That’s as good as it gets for Manly. This is the best on offer in the whole outlook – solid, clean, head-high waves with perfect conditions. The swell direction from the S is a bit off the optimum SE for this point, but with that quality, you won’t care.

After that, the weekend of July 18th and 19th gets a bit messy again with onshore winds until a moderate offshore breeze returns on the afternoon of the 19th with a 3ft S swell. The following Monday, July 20th, shows some promise with a 6ft S swell and moderate offshore wind, but it’s rated as marginal.

So, to sum it up: the whole period starts big and gnarly, settles into some nice clean mid-range surf mid-week, goes totally dead for a few days, then delivers the absolute goods on Friday the 17th. That’s your day.

Rusty.

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