Rat Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s cookin’ for Rat Beach.

Overall, the 16-day outlook is a tough one. We’ve got a long stretch of weak, choppy, and cross-onshore junk to deal with. The first good look we get is on Sunday morning, July 19th, but it’s a real tease. The swell is tiny at 2ft from the SW, with a super long 17-second period. That’s a beautiful groundswell pulse, but it’s just got no power behind it. The water is a staggering 71°, which is 7° warmer than usual for this time of year – that’s very unusual, so you’ll be surfing in a bath. The cross-offshore wind from the S at 6 mph will keep the surface clean, and the combined swell energy is moderate (244). It’s a beginner-friendly reef break, but it’s inconsistent, so don’t expect a wave every minute. The problem is, after that morning, the whole afternoon goes to mush with a cross-shore breeze, and the rest of the week is a write-off.

From Sunday afternoon right through to the end of July, it’s just a graveyard of poor surf conditions. The wind swings onshore or cross-shore almost every session, and the swell is either tiny or short-period wind chop. The 25th of July Saturday afternoon has a brief spike of moderate energy (376) from a 2ft, 21-second SW swell, but the 16 mph cross-onshore wind from the W will make it a choppy, blown-out mess. That’s a kite surfer’s zone, not a paddle surfer’s.

We finally get a sniff of something better on the morning of July 30th. The wind turns offshore from the SE at 9 mph, cleaning up a 2ft W swell. It’s still small, but the conditions will be clean. Then on August 3rd, Monday morning, we get a clean offshore breeze again from the SE, this time at 12 mph, with the same tiny 2ft W swell. The afternoon of the 3rd has a 1ft SW swell with a 16-second period and moderate energy (107) and clean conditions with a cross-offshore wind. It’s surfable, but still very ordinary.

The standout morning, by a long shot, is Sunday July 19th morning. The combination of clean, glassy conditions with that 17-second groundswell is the best on offer. It’s the only time the stars align for a decent, clean paddle. The 2ft SW swell is perfect for beginners, and the long period will give you a few slow, beautiful lines. After that, it’s a brutal wait for another clean window, which doesn’t really arrive until the very end of the run.

For the second week, the long-range signals are weak. The 3ft swell on the 27th and 28th looks promising on paper, but the wind is a mess. It’s a classic case of the swell being there but the wind ruining it. Don’t hold your breath.

Rusty.

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