Rest Bay Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, folks, Rusty here. Let’s be straight with you – the next couple of weeks are looking pretty grim for a proper surf. We’ve got a long stretch of poor conditions ahead, but there are a couple of small windows where you might get wet if you’re desperate.

The pattern for the next two weeks is dominated by onshore and cross-onshore winds, and the swell just doesn’t have any power behind it. For the first week, from the 30th through to the 4th, it’s a washout. We're looking at windswell with short periods, lumpy and choppy conditions, and no real quality. The water is going to be a weird one too – it’s sitting at 69°F at Rest Bay (Porthcawl) on Sunday, which is over 7°F warmer than normal for this time of year. That’s very unusual, like a bath out there, but you won’t be able to enjoy it with the wind ruining everything.

We do see a bit of a bump in size on Friday the 4th, with swell hitting 8ft and energy getting up there (792), but it’s coming with a strong 25 mph cross-onshore wind. That’s just messy, stormy surf, not worth the paddle out unless you’re a glutton for punishment. Even then, it’s a poor outlook.

There’s a brief, slight lull in the wind on the morning of Saturday the 5th, but the swell drops to 4ft with a short 7-second period. It’s still cross-shore, and honestly, it’s only a marginal call. The energy is weak (272), and you’d be scratching for anything. The few days after that are dead – tiny, weak, and mostly onshore or cross-onshore. We’re looking at a stretch from the 6th to the 12th where the swell is below 3ft. It’s flat, or close to it. This is a proper blank run.

For a bit of a silver lining, the morning of Sunday the 13th looks like the only real highlight in the whole two weeks. The wind swings offshore from the ENE at 12 mph, and the ocean cleans up nicely. The swell is small, only 2ft with a 10-second period from the WSW (55 energy), but at least it’s a clean, offshore surf. It’s a long-period swell, and at a beach-and-point break like Rest Bay, that long period can make it break a bit straight, but with those small waves, it’s not a big deal. It’s really just a chance to get the board wet in clean water. It won’t be exciting, but it’s the best on offer. The Monday morning after that is clean and offshore too, but the swell fades to almost nothing at 0.7ft, so you’re just floating around.

So, the long and short of it: there’s almost no real surf to get excited about. You’ve got a gap of several days with nothing, and the one hopeful morning is tiny. Keep your expectations low, but the forecasts can change. It tends not to stay this bad for long.

Rusty

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