Rat Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G'day, Rusty here. Look, I've got to be straight with you – the next 16 days at Rat Beach are a real struggle. There's no surf on offer for the first few days, and honestly, the whole outlook is a flat spell. The forecast has a long gap of almost nothing rideable, with just a few tiny windows of "surfable" waves that are still pretty ordinary. The combined swell energy is weak, with values mostly in the teens and twenties, rarely even cracking 100 – it's a desert out there.

Let's start with the water situation. The first reading on Wednesday, July 29th shows the water temp at a very unusual 73°F, which is a massive 7°F warmer than average for this time of year. That's a real anomaly, but it won't help the waves.

The first real glimmer, if you can call it that, is on Monday, August 3rd. The morning brings a tiny 1ft swell from the SW, but with a very long period of 16 seconds. That's a groundswell, so it'll have some energy, but it's only 1ft. The combined energy is 67 – weak. The wind is light and cross-off from the SSE, so the surface will be clean. It's listed as "surfable waves but very ordinary conditions" – a 1/10 score. That's the best it gets. It's a reef break, so that long period might actually wrap in a little better than at a beach, but it's still tiny. The morning of Tuesday, August 4th is similar: 1ft from the SW, 15-second period, light cross-off wind, clean. Again, a 1/10. Wednesday, August 5th morning is exactly the same pattern – 1ft, 14-second period, light cross-off, clean. This is the "standout" of the run, and it's a very low bar.

The rest of the days are a write-off. Afternoons have cross-shore or cross-onshore winds that chop up the already tiny swell. The swell height never gets above 2ft, and the period is often short, under 8 seconds, meaning weak, crumbly waves. The whole setup is inconsistent and rarely breaks, and when it does, it's poor. This is more normal for the area – a blank run like this isn't a surprise. For the first week, you're looking at a long gap with no real recommendations. Into the second week, from August 7th onwards, it's even worse, with the swell dropping to 0.3ft or 0.7ft and the combined energy down to single digits. The morning of August 13th has a 2ft swell from the W, but it's a short 5-second period, so it'll be messy.

Honestly, with such small, weak swell and the better windows being a tiny 1ft to 1ft, this is more of a paddling or swimming spot than a surfing one. There's nothing here for a surfer to get excited about. Keep the board in the car and wait for a better forecast.

Rusty.

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