Pea Break Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, let's talk in feet and miles per hour.

Righto, grab a coffee and pull up a chair. Rusty here, and I've been staring at the charts for our local zone, Pea Break. It's a reef setup, so it needs a good, clean swell direction to really fire, and we've got a solid run of southwest groundswell on the way. But the wind is going to be the real story here, and it's a mixed bag.

Let's start with the water. The temp is sitting at 66°F, which is about 2°F off the norm, so pretty average for this time of year. Nothing to write home about, but you won't be freezing.

The first real standout is looking like Wednesday the 22nd. We've got a solid 12 ft SW groundswell rolling in with a very long period of 14 seconds. The wave energy is strong (3901 in the morning, 4370 in the afternoon). The wind is a gentle offshore breeze from the SSE, which is bang on, and it's going to be clean. This is a setup for experienced surfers only, because that's a big, powerful reef wave. The crowd factor is "sometimes," so if you're a competent surfer, this is the pick of the early window. The morning is a bit cross-off, but the afternoon is a true offshore, so the later session will be even better.

Thursday the 23rd is still pumping, but the quality drops. Swell is still a solid 8 ft with the same long period, but the wind swings around. The morning is a cross-off from the ENE, still clean enough, but the rating is lower. The afternoon is a cross-shore, so it's a bit of a wash. Not a bad day, but not the blue-ribbon session.

Friday the 24th sees the swell dropping to 5 ft and the period shortening to 12 seconds. The moderate wind from the NNE is creating a cross-chop. It's surfable, but it's not the stand-out.

Now, we hit a rough patch. From Saturday the 25th through to the end of the month, the wind turns nasty. We're looking at strong onshore and cross-onshore winds, with gusts hitting 31 mph on Sunday the 26th. The swell is inconsistent, and the wave energy is all over the place. The Sunday afternoon on the 26th has a bit of a clean window with a cross-off wind, but the swell is 13 ft and the wind is still a strong breeze. It's a power session, but the conditions are marginal. The whole week from the 26th to the 31st is a bit of a write-off for clean, quality waves.

Then we get to the second week, and it gets interesting again. Monday the 27th is a beauty. The wind turns offshore again from the SE, a gentle breeze, and the swell is a solid 10 ft with a 14-second period. The wave energy is very strong (3257 in the morning, 3669 in the afternoon). It's clean, powerful, and again, for experienced surfers. That's the other standout in the fortnight.

After that, the wind becomes a problem again, with strong cross-onshore winds and messy conditions through the 29th and 30th. The 31st of July is a total washout, with near-gale force winds and a massive 15 ft swell.

Looking way out, the 2nd of August has a monster 18 ft SW groundswell with a very long 19-second period. The energy is off the charts (20714). The wind is a clean cross-off, but the data says it's predicted to be too big for this break. That's a day for the experts to watch, but it's a long way out and the confidence is low.

The 4th of August has a nice little window of glassy conditions in the afternoon with an 12 ft NW swell, but the period is short at 8 seconds. It'll be a fun, clean wave, but not the deep, powerful stuff we saw earlier.

So, to wrap it up: The best on offer is Wednesday the 22nd and Monday the 27th. Both have solid, long-period SW groundswell, clean offshore winds, and very strong wave energy. Get on it if you're an advanced surfer. The rest of the window is either windy, messy, or just too big. Keep your eye on the long-range for the 2nd of August, but don't bank on it.

Rusty.

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