Onjuku Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Let’s talk about what’s on offer for Onjuku over the next couple of weeks. It’s a bit of a slow start, but there are a few moments that could be worth paddling out for, and one stretch that looks like a real treat if you’ve got the experience.

The water temp is sitting at a comfortable 79° – pretty much spot on for this time of year, nothing unusual there.

Alright, the first real chance to get wet comes on Sunday the 13th. The afternoon’s looking clean with glassy conditions and a small 2ft swell rolling in from the ESE, with a period of 13 seconds. That’s a nice long-period groundswell, which means better-shaped waves but longer lulls between sets. The combined energy is moderate at 239, so don’t expect much push. It’s a gentle start, but the wind is dead calm, so you’ll be surfing clean little peelers.

Then we hit a bit of a dry spell. From Monday the 14th through most of Tuesday the 15th, the wind turns onshore and the surf quality drops off. It’s not worth your time. Wednesday the 16th brings a glimmer of hope – morning and afternoon both see clean conditions with a cross-offshore breeze and a small 2ft swell from the east. The energy is moderate (296 in the morning, 203 in the afternoon) and the period is a solid 12-13 seconds. It’s not pumping, but it’s surfable and tidy.

Thursday the 17th gets messy again with strong cross-offshore winds, and by the afternoon the swell bumps up to 6ft but with a short, weak period of 7 seconds – that’s junk, even if it looks big. Friday the 18th sees the wind go offshore, which is a big positive, but the morning swell is still that short-period 6ft from the ENE (energy 703 – moderate to strong) – it’s a bit of a mixed bag. The afternoon though, things get interesting. The swell switches to a 6ft SE groundswell with a very long 17-second period, and the combined energy jumps to a strong 2460. That’s proper energy, and with fresh offshore winds, the lines should be clean and powerful. This is a standout moment for experienced surfers – the point break setup at Onjuku will really appreciate that long-period SE swell.

Saturday the 19th sees the swell push up to 10ft from the SE, with periods around 12-13 seconds and very strong energy (3879 in the morning). But the wind is cross-offshore in the morning and cross-shore in the afternoon, so it’ll be a bit lumpy. Still, that’s a lot of water moving.

The real highlight of the whole run is Sunday the 20th. The swell holds at 10ft from the SE, with a 12-second period and combined energy of 2035-2331 (very strong). The wind is light to moderate offshore from the north. This is excellent surf for experienced surfers – big, clean, powerful waves. If you’re an expert, this is your window. The break can get crowded sometimes, so keep that in mind.

Monday the 21st goes to hell in a handbasket – strong onshore winds, a big messy 8-10ft swell, and completely blown out. Skip it. Tuesday the 22nd is plain dangerous – the swell hits 18-23ft with extreme energy (over 20,000). That’s way too big for this break, even for experts.

After that, the surf settles down through the rest of the week and into the following weekend. Wednesday the 23rd through Saturday the 26th mostly offers small, clean but weak waves. The best of that stretch is Friday the 25th morning, with a 5ft east-northeast swell, 7-second period, and glassy conditions – combined energy 359 (moderate). It’s small and short-period, but clean.

Then Sunday the 27th morning brings a surprise – glassy conditions again with a 8ft swell from the ENE, 8-second period, and combined energy of 1168 (strong). That’s a solid wave for experienced surfers, and with no wind it’ll be glassy. The period is short though, so it might be a bit crumbly.

Monday the 28th sees the wind turn onshore again, making things choppy with a 7-7ft SE swell. Not one for the quiver.

So, the standout window is definitely Friday the 18th afternoon through Sunday the 20th, with Sunday the 20th being the pick – big, offshore, clean, and powerful. If you’re experienced and can handle 10ft waves, that’s the one.

Rusty.

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