Rainbow Bay Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at the next 16 days for our corner of the world. There’s a bit of a slow start, but don’t write it off – there’s some real promise further down the line.

We’re looking at Rainbow Bay, a sheltered point break that’s fairly consistent. It’s a beginner-friendly spot, but it can get crowded, so keep that in mind. The water temp is sitting at 70°, which is bang on average for this time of year, so nothing unusual there.

The first real surfable window kicks off on Saturday morning, 25 July. We’ve got a clean 3ft swell from the SE, with a long 16-second period. That’s proper groundswell, and with light offshore wind from the south, it’ll be glassy. The combined energy is moderate at 720. This is a standout for the early part of the forecast – clean, lined-up waves for the longboard or a mid-length.

The rest of that weekend and into the week is pretty ordinary. Sunday morning, 26 July, still has a clean 3ft swell from the SSE, but the period drops to 10 seconds and the energy is weaker (225). It’s surfable, but nothing to get excited about. Monday is similar, and by Tuesday the swell drops right off to 2ft with poor conditions. There’s a real lull from Tuesday afternoon, 28 July, all the way through to Wednesday, 30 July. Expect a few days of flat to tiny, weak waves.

Thursday morning, 30 July, sees a pulse of new swell – 5ft from the south, but with a short, weak 6-second period. The wind is strong offshore at 12-16 mph, which will keep it clean, but the wave quality is ordinary. By Friday, 31 July, it’s similar: 5ft to 6ft, but still short-period and lumpy. The energy picks up a bit, but it’s not pretty.

Now, here’s where it gets interesting. Saturday morning, 1 August, brings a solid 5ft SSE swell with a 10-second period, moderate offshore wind, and combined energy of 410. The forecast calls it good surf. This is a solid morning session, though the afternoon gets messy with cross-offshore wind.

The real standout, though, is way out there. On Saturday morning, 8 August, we’re looking at a serious pulse: 10ft from the SSE with an 8-second period. That’s over 8ft, so this is expert-only territory. The energy is very strong (1397), and with moderate offshore wind, it’ll be a beast. For the experienced crew, this is the one to circle on the calendar – but it’s a long way off, so keep an eye on it.

Sunday, 9 August, still has size (7ft in the morning) but onshore wind ruins it. The afternoon is a write-off.

So, overall: the best bet is this Saturday morning, 25 July, for clean, long-period waves. The big one on 8 August is for the experts only. There’s a gap of poor surf from Tuesday, 28 July, to Wednesday, 30 July, so don’t bother paddling out then.

Stay stoked, and I’ll see you in the water.

Rusty

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