Number Fours Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what Number Fours is cooking up over the next couple of weeks.

First thing’s first – the water’s sitting at 80°, which is pretty much bang on average for this time of year, so no worries there.

The outlook for Number Fours is a bit of a mixed bag, to be honest. We’ve got a solid window of surfable waves, but the quality is going to be a constant battle with the wind. The real standout, the one that has me a little excited, is the Tuesday the 28th of July. That morning, we’ve got a clean 7ft easterly swell with a long 13-second period pushing in. The combined energy is a hefty 1820 (moderate to strong), which means there’s some real grunt behind it. The wind is a cross-offshore breeze, which should keep the face nice and clean for intermediate crew. That afternoon it even bumps up to 8ft, but the energy is even higher at 2070, so it’s still worth a paddle. Just keep in mind, with a swell that size and a long period, Number Fours (a reef) should handle it well, but it might be a bit much for beginners.

The run-up to that standout is a bit of a write-off. Monday the 27th has a clean 5ft swell, but with a 19 mph cross-off wind, it’s going to be a battle. The energy is only 1022 (moderate), and the forecast calls it marginal, so I’d probably give it a miss.

After that Tuesday peak, the quality drops off. Wednesday the 29th shows a 7ft swell, but the wind swings onshore, which is a real shame. The energy drops to 930, and it’s just not going to be the same. Thursday and Friday look pretty average with strong winds and short-period, choppy energy.

There’s a long, quiet gap from the 31st of July right through to the 9th of August. The wind is howling from the ENE at 19 to 28 mph most days, and while the swell sticks around, the period is short (7-8 seconds) and the conditions are consistently described as poor. The energy is all over the place, but it’s all wind chop. Not worth your time.

Now, towards the very end of the outlook, we get a flicker of hope. Tuesday the 11th of August in the afternoon looks interesting. It’s a tiny 3ft swell, but it’s from the SSW with a very long 15-second period, giving it some shape. The combined energy is 512 (weak). The key here is the wind goes light and offshore, with a little bit of light rain. The forecast is literally “expect very good surf conditions,” which is a rare thing to see in this data. It’s a long way out, so take it with a grain of salt, but it’s the only other real standout in the whole period.

For the rest of the time, with the constant strong cross-offshore winds and the beach break setup, this might actually look more interesting for the kite surfers than us paddle surfers.

Rusty.

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