Number Fours Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, mates, Rusty here. Let’s break down what’s cookin’ for Number Fours over the next couple of weeks.

We’re starting off a bit slow. The first few days are looking pretty average – there’s swell, but it’s short-period, lumpy ENE windswell, and the wind is blowin’ hard. Not really worth gettin’ wet for. Then, we get a bit of a window.

The real standout is shaping up for Wednesday, July 29th. The morning will be the pick of the whole run. We’ve got a solid 8 ft of ENE groundswell (period 11 seconds) comin’ in, and the wind is only a light 5 km/h from the NNE. That’s a cross-off breeze, keeping the face clean. The combined energy is strong (1651), and it’s got real grunt. This is going to be proper, powerful surf. It’s a bit much for the beginners – over 8 ft means it’s a serious wave, but for the experienced crew, it’ll be firing. The water temp is sittin’ at 80°, which is about average for this time of year. The afternoon of that same day, the wind goes glassy, completely off the dial, and the swell drops to 6 ft (720 energy). It’ll be a bit more user-friendly, but that morning session is the one to chase.

Before that, we have a little run from Thursday, July 24th through Tuesday, July 28th. It’s a mixed bag. You’ll see wave heights from 3 ft to 8 ft, but the wind is a persistent, fresh ENE breeze, keepin’ it all a bit clean but strong. The swell periods are mostly short, under 10 seconds, so the waves will be a bit weak and crumbly. There’s a small window of long-period SSW energy on the 25th and 26th, but it’s only 3 ft – not enough grunt to get excited about. The energy values are mostly in the moderate to strong range (693 to 1673), but the wind just isn't cooperating to make it truly magical.

After the 29th, things get a bit dicey again. From the 31st of July through the 1st of August, the wind kicks back up to 40 km/h, and the swell gets messy. The forecaster is calling it poor surf, and I’d agree – that’s a kite-surfing wind, not a paddle-surfing wind. The beach setup would be more fun on a kite board.

Then we get a bit of a lull. The 2nd and 3rd of August offer some long-period (15-16 second) swell, but it’s only about 3 ft high (1100 energy). That’s a lot of water moving but not a lot of wave face. It’s a classic groundswell situation where the long period might make it break too straight for the beach, but it could be fun on a point or reef if you can find the right bank. The 5th of August has a small window of gentler cross-shore wind, but the swell is still just 5 ft of short-period stuff.

From the 6th of August onward, we’re back into the wind. It’s a steady 35-40 km/h from the ENE, with swell bumping up to 8 ft again, but the wind is a disaster. The energy is high (over 1000), but it’ll be a choppy, blown-out mess. Not worth the effort.

So, in summary: Wednesday, July 29th morning is your absolute standout. Get on it. The rest of the window is a wait-and-see game, with a couple of promising but not perfect days. The run from the 31st of July onward is a write-off until the wind backs off. Stay patient, and keep an eye on the charts.

Rusty

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