Pelican Watch Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, let’s break it down, mate. I’m Rusty, and I’ve been staring at the charts for our stretch of coast. To be honest, the next 16 days are a bit of a mixed bag with a whole lot of nothing at the start. We’re looking at Pelican Watch, and it’s a beginner-friendly spot that’s fairly consistent, but it’s exposed to the swell and can get crowded often.

The water temp is sitting around 85°F right now, which is about 2°F warmer than usual for this time of year – feels like a warm bath, which is nice.

The first few days are a total write-off. From Thursday the 23rd through to Monday the 27th of July, we’ve got tiny 1ft to 2ft swells, mostly from the SE or ESE, with periods around 8 seconds. The wind is a messy cross-off or cross-on, and the combined energy is weak, sitting between 17 and 100. It’s just poor surf conditions, no two ways about it. You’re better off waxing your board at home.

Then on Tuesday the 28th, things get weird. The morning is still tiny at 1ft, but the afternoon throws up a 6ft south-southwest swell with a short 6-second period. The combined energy jumps to 231 (moderate), but the wind is a fresh 19 mph cross-off. It’s clean, but that short period and size make it a bit of a mess – more of a kite-surfing setup than a paddle session. Still rated as poor surf.

Wednesday the 29th of July is the first glimmer. We get a 4ft south swell in the morning, period 7 seconds, with a light NNW wind – cross-off and clean. The combined energy is 126 (moderate). Afternoon drops to 2ft. It’s surfable, but ordinary. The afternoon is similar.

Then we hit another dry patch. From Thursday the 30th of July through to Sunday the 2nd of August, it’s back to 2ft to 3ft slop, with cross-onshore or cross-shore wind and energy levels below 100. There’s a glassy 2ft morning on Friday the 31st, but it’s tiny.

The real standout, the one worth circling on the calendar, is Sunday the 2nd of August. The morning brings a 4ft SSE swell with an 8-second period, light SSW cross-off wind, and combined energy of 196 (moderate). It’s clean. The afternoon gets a bit bigger at 5ft from the south, but the period drops to 7 seconds and the energy hits 250. It’s a bit marginal with the short period, but it’s the best we’ve got. This is for experienced surfers only, as it’s over 5ft.

Monday the 3rd of August morning is still okay with a 4ft swell from SSE, but it’s dropping off. The rest of the week is a slow fade back to 2ft to 3ft slop with poor conditions.

So, the only proper call is Sunday the 2nd of August at Pelican Watch. It’s not going to be a classic, but it’s the cleanest, most energetic swell of the whole run. The rest of the 16 days? Mostly a bust. But as we know, it never stays flat forever.

Rusty.

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