Publics Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s get into the surf outlook for the Publics area. It’s a bit of a mixed bag over the next couple of weeks, so let's break it down.

The water is sitting at about 81°F, which is pretty much what you’d expect for this time of year—nothing weird going on there.

We’ve got a bit of a waiting game on our hands. The good news comes later; we just have to get through some average to poor conditions first.

The first real pulse of interest hits around Saturday the 15th. The wind swings offshore from the NE at 25 mph, but the swell is a beast at 10ft from the ENE with a period of 12 seconds. That’s a lot of water moving, with combined energy readings up around 2511, so this is a strong, powerful groundswell. It’s going to be a challenge to paddle into with that strong offshore wind. For the experienced crew only at this size. The Saturday afternoon session shows the wind backing off to 25 mph and the swell jumping to 12ft from the ENE (13 sec period). The energy jumps to 3981 – proper strong. It’s clean and offshore, but again, only for the experts.

Now, the standout window. Sunday the 16th is where it gets crazy. The morning shows a huge 23ft swell from the ENE with a 13-second period, and the combined energy rockets to 18572. That is some serious, raw power. The wind is a cross-on from the SSE at 37 mph, making it a near-gale. While the wind is favorable, this is going to be absolutely massive and blown out. Only the bravest and most experienced chargers should even look at it. The afternoon drops to 20ft from the E, still enormous, but the wind is still a messy cross-on. This is not a beginner or intermediate session.

After that big weekend, things settle down quickly. Monday 17th the swell drops to 6ft from the ENE (9 sec period, moderate energy 859) with a light cross-shore. The afternoon gets even nicer with 5ft and light 6 mph winds. The surf quality starts to improve, but it’s still marginal.

The following week, from Tuesday 18th through to Sunday 24th, is pretty grim. We’re looking at small, weak swells (2ft to 5ft) with short periods and moderate to fresh cross-offshore winds. The energy levels are low, under 500 most days. It’s mostly clean, but there’s no push, no power. Not worth paddling out for unless you’re desperate for a tan on your board.

We do see a little lift at the end of the forecast. Tuesday 25th shows a 3ft to 4ft swell from the S with a nice long 16-17 second period. The combined energy is back up to 858 to 1009, indicating moderate wave energy. The wind stays cross-off from the ENE at 19 mph. It’s still clean, but the swell size is small. That long period groundswell from the south is promising for shape, but at this height, it’s more of a micro-session.

So, to wrap it up: the true standouts are Saturday 15th afternoon for the experts looking for a clean, powerful challenge, and the Sunday 16th morning for the big-wave crew if they’re willing to deal with the wind. The rest of the window is mostly small and average, with a few clean days late in the second week for a longboard or a funboard.

Stay safe out there,
Rusty.

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