Publics Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, it’s Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s on offer for Publics over the next couple of weeks.

Right off the bat, things are pretty quiet. The first few days are a tough watch – Saturday the 18th through to the end of the week are mostly a write-off. The swell is up and down, but the wind is stuck cross-off from the ENE, strong enough to mess things up, and the wave quality is poor. You’re looking at short-period, wind-affected slop with combined energy that’s moderate at best – around 604 (July 18th morning) to 988 (July 23rd afternoon). It’s not really surfable, so you’d be better off waiting.

The gap in good surf runs from now until late July. That’s a solid week of near-nothing. Then, from Monday the 27th, things start to build. The swell picks up from the E with periods pushing 15–16 seconds, which is proper groundswell, and the combined energy climbs into the strong range – 1799 (July 27th morning) to 2055 (July 27th afternoon). The waves are around 6 ft to 6 ft, but the wind is still cross-off from the ENE, which keeps it from being truly clean. It’s marginal, but there’s potential for the more experienced crew.

The real standout, though, is Wednesday the 29th. That’s the one. The swell really fires up – 15 ft to 18 ft from the ENE with a period of 14 seconds, and the combined energy goes through the roof: 8514 on the morning and a massive 11067 in the afternoon. That’s very strong wave energy. The wind on Wednesday afternoon shifts to offshore from the NE, which is a game-changer – it’ll be clean and lined up. This is expert-only territory, obviously – over 8 ft is a big, heavy wave. Publics is a beach and reef setup, so at that size, it’ll be powerful and demanding. Crowds are always present here, so expect company. The water temperature is 80°F with a 0.5°F anomaly – that’s about average for the time of year, so no surprises there.

Thursday the 30th still holds good size – 12 ft on the morning, dropping to 8 ft by the afternoon, with light cross-off winds from the ENE and E. That’s excellent for experienced surfers, but the swell direction is ENE, and the optimum swell for Publics is SSE, so it’s not a perfect match. Still, at 12 ft with a 11-second period, it’s very surfable for the right crew.

Friday the 31st and Saturday the 1st of August fade back to 6 ft–7 ft with short period (8 seconds) and cross-off winds, so it’s back to mediocre. The combined energy drops to moderate – 759 to 792. By Sunday the 2nd of August, it’s all gone – 4 ft to 4 ft, weak energy (264 to 299), and poor conditions.

So, the best on offer is Wednesday the 29th of July – that afternoon session with offshore wind and massive swell is the one to circle. Thursday the 30th morning is also a solid option for the experienced. Everything else is either too small, too windy, or too raw. The long-range stuff looks promising but less certain – keep an eye on it.

Rusty.

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