Lighthouse Right Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Righto, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s cookin’ for Lighthouse Right (Noumea-Pass). Straight up, I gotta be honest with ya – it’s a grim run for the next fortnight or so. There’s a big ol’ gap of quiet, small conditions right through the first few days. The first real chance to even think about paddling out doesn’t show up until Tuesday the 11th of August, and even then, it’s barely a whisper.

Okay, so for Saturday the 8th and Sunday the 9th, don’t even bother. We’re talkin’ swell heights of 0.7 ft to 1 ft, combined wave energy is pitiful – down in the low single digits or barely cracking 20 (value: 2 to 22). Winds are messy, either cross-off or onshore, and the whole thing is labelled “poor surf conditions.” It’s a flat spell.

We get a tiny window on Tuesday morning the 11th. The swell bumps up slightly to 1 ft from the SW, with a nice long period of 16 seconds. The wind goes glassy for a moment – that’s a major positive for clean conditions. The combined wave energy is a weak 64. It’s surfable, but only just. You’ll be fighting the flatness. That’s our only real nod for a paddle all week.

After that, from Tuesday afternoon right through the end of the forecast period, it’s back to “poor surf conditions” with hardly any rideable energy. We see a spike in swell from the 14th to the 18th of August, with heights jumping up to 7 ft to 8 ft from the SSW. The combined wave energy gets up into the hundreds and even hits over 2000 (value: 839 to 2144) – that’s strong stuff. But don’t get excited. The wind is howlin’ onshore, 15 mph to 28 mph from the SE or ESE, turning it into a chunky, messy, blowy mess. The wave comment stays “poor surf conditions” throughout. For a reef break like this, that onslaught of wind and lumpy water means it’s gonna be more of a kite-surfing setup than anything you’d wanna paddle into. Unless you’re an absolute expert looking for a brutal challenge, give it a miss.

So, the standout – and I’m scraping the barrel here – is Tuesday morning the 11th of August. It’s clean, it’s glassy, the swell direction (SW) is pretty close to the optimum WSW for this spot, and that long 16-second period will give it a bit of shape. But with only 1 ft on offer, it’s strictly for the small-wave gear and the most patient surfer.

Otherwise, it’s a long, bleak stretch. We’re looking at a continuous gap of low-quality, onshore-slapped surf from the 14th right through to the 23rd. No real standouts. The water temp anomaly is about average for the time of year. Just one of those periods where you’re better off waiting for the next forecast to change.

Rusty.

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