Raffs Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, let's break it down. First bit: there's a big pulse of long-period groundswell coming in Friday, July 3rd. Raffs Beach is seeing solid 12ft from the WSW, but the wind isn't doing it any favors – morning brings a fresh 35 km/h cross-off, but the swell is just too big for the beach to handle well. Afternoon stays bumpy with a cross breeze. Saturday the 4th is still big, but the wind turns cross-onshore and the whole thing gets messy. Honestly, with that kind of size and messy wind, it’s more something to watch than surf.

Then Monday, July 6th is where it gets interesting. Swell drops to a more manageable 5ft from the SW, still a solid 14-second period, and – here's the good news – we get light north offshore wind in the morning. Clean faces, and it’s excellent for experienced surfers. Water temp is 57°F, about average for this time of year. This is the standout window for the first week. Afternoon stays surfable at 5ft with a light cross-off breeze. Tuesday the 7th is smaller but still clean and fun with cross-off wind, though the wave energy has dropped way off.

Now we hit a bit of a lull from Wednesday the 8th through Sunday the 12th of July. Swell sticks around but the wind turns onshore from the SSW in the middle of the week, making it choppy and poor. That said, by Friday, July 10th, the wind goes back offshore from the NNW on the morning, with 5ft of 15-second SW groundswell, and clean conditions. That's another excellent window for the experienced crowd. Saturday the 11th keeps that offshore flow, a little stronger, with 5ft swell – still very surfable and clean.

Then Sunday afternoon, July 12th, gets interesting again: 6ft, 13-second SW, and a moderate north-northeasterly offshore – that's excellent for experienced surfers. But Monday the 13th, it turns again – onshore SSW wind ramps to 30 km/h with 8ft of swell and it’s messy. The next few days through Thursday the 16th stay poor to marginal with onshore wind and big, lumpy conditions. Friday, July 17th offers a break: light NNW cross-off wind and 8ft SSE swell, but the period is short at 8 seconds. Still, it’s clean for the experienced crew. The energy behind that is strong.

After that, the outlook winds down. Saturday, July 18th, has offshore wind again, but the swell has dropped to a mellow 3ft with long period – clean and glassy, so a great day for the longboard.

One thing: those long-period swells (14 to 19 seconds) are proper groundswell, and at a beach set-up like Raffs, they can break a bit too straight. Best to paddle out on the dropping tide and hunt for the right peaks.

Water temps are just normal for July here – nothing unusual.

Keep your eyes on Monday the 6th and Friday the 10th of July – those are your best shots for clean, quality waves.

Rusty.

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