Tropical's (Pantai Pisin) Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s cookin’ for this stretch of coast.

Alright, straight up, I wouldn’t bother paddling out for the first week or so. The surf is there, but it’s all tagged as “marginal” and the scores are bottom of the barrel. The wind is mostly a cross-off or cross-shore blow, which isn’t terrible for the surface, but the wave quality just isn’t there. We’ve got a persistent SE wind that’s been messing with the shape. The best chance for a proper session doesn’t really show up until we get into the first week of August.

The standout for this whole outlook is shaping up to be Sunday the 2nd of August at Tropical's (Pantai Pisin). The swell is building nicely, with a solid 7ft to 7ft of SSW groundswell, and the period is a nice long 16-17 seconds – that’s proper energy. The combined wave energy is massive, hitting 2237 and then 2840 in the afternoon. That’s a lot of power. The water temp is bang on average for the time of year at 80°. The morning has a light breeze, which is a major positive for clean conditions. This is the one that’ll have the juice, but heads up – at that size, it’s getting into the “experts only” territory. The break is a reef, so it’ll handle that long-period swell well, but it’s a spot that’s inconsistent and rarely breaks well, so when it’s on, it’s on. You’ll also have to share it, as it’s often crowded.

The week after that, from the 3rd to the 5th, the swell drops a touch to 6ft with shorter periods, and the cross-shore wind picks up again, making the surface lumpy. It’s not a total write-off, but it’s not the same quality as that Sunday.

Then we get another pulse around Thursday the 6th of August and into the 7th, with the swell pushing back up to 7ft from the SSW and a period of 16-17 seconds. The combined energy is back up over 2500. The Thursday afternoon actually shows a clean, cross-off wind, which is a real bonus. That could be a solid second option, but the wind on Friday gets a bit strong and lumpy. This is a promising run, but being so far out, treat it as a promising possibility rather than a sure thing.

The 8th and 9th hold similar size but the wind gets messy again with a fresh breeze and a lumpy cross-chop. Not ideal.

So, to wrap it up for the locals: for the next week, save your energy. The real window to get excited about is Sunday the 2nd, and then keep an eye on the 6th for a possible repeat performance. Don’t bother with the small, weak days in between.

Rusty.

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