Rhino Head Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s take a look at what we’ve got coming our way at Rhino Head over the next couple of weeks. It’s a bit of a slow builder, but there are a couple of windows that could be worth your time.

Overall, we’re looking at a mix of clean conditions but often small, middling swell. The first week is pretty quiet, with the swell hanging around 2ft to 5ft. There’s a real standout that pops up at the very end of the run, but we’ve got to be patient for it. The water temp here and now is right on average for this time of year, sitting at 59°F.

Let’s start off with Thursday the 30th. It’s small, with a 4ft SSW swell (13-second period) in the morning, but a glassy afternoon window on Thursday with a 4ft SW swell and light southerly winds looks nice and tidy. The combined energy is moderate at 394. It’s a mellow option.

Friday the 31st is smaller, with the swell dropping to 2ft to 3ft. The afternoon gets a clean look with light N cross-off winds and a 2ft SW swell (13-second period; energy 332). Not much push, but clean.

The first real pulse comes through on Saturday and Sunday, the 1st and 2nd of August. Saturday sees the swell building to 4ft to 5ft from the SSW with a long 17-18 second period. The energy jumps up to 1163 by the afternoon, with clean conditions under clear skies and cross-off northerly winds (16 mph). This is a good, solid weekend session for the experienced crew, as that long period swell will wrap in nicely.

Sunday the 2nd has a solid 22-25 mph offshore wind from the NW and W, keeping the 4ft SSW swell (15-16 seconds) super clean, but the wind is strong. Paddling out will be a battle, and the energy is moderate (584-665). You’ll want a crew to help manage the current.

We hit a bit of a lull from Monday the 3rd through to Wednesday the 5th. Swell is small (2ft to 3ft), and conditions are ordinary or just marginal. Not worth the effort.

Now, mark your calendars for Wednesday the 5th of August afternoon. This is the first of the two true standouts. We get a 4ft SW swell (18-second period) with a combined energy of 895. The wind is NNE at 9 mph, cross-off, and the forecast says “expect good surf conditions.” This is clean, punchy groundswell. For an intermediate surfer, this is the best call of the first week. The longer period will offer proper waves, but it's not too big.

Then we have a fairly extended gap of poor to marginal conditions through to the end of the first week and into the second week. Lots of onshore and cross-shore wind, chop, and small swell. It stays that way until the big event.

The real standout for the whole 16-day window is Sunday the 9th of August. We’ve got a massive pulse of 10ft SW swell (13-14 second period) rolling in. The combined energy is off the charts at 3611 in the morning and 2800 in the afternoon. With strong 22-25 mph offshore winds from the NW and W, this will be a heavy, powerful, expert-only session. The strong offshore will clean it up beautifully, but paddling into a 10ft wave with that much energy is serious. This is a big-wave day for the best of the best. The swell direction is right on the money for the optimum (SW). The crowd factor at Rhino Head says “sometimes,” but on a day like this, expect the heavy crew to be out.

Monday the 10th holds solid with a 7ft SSW swell (14-second period, then up to 19 seconds!) in the afternoon and plenty of energy (2964-3252). The wind is cross-off, but strong at 22 mph. This is still expert territory, but the period is a bit longer, making it more rideable for the good surfers.

The rest of the second week from Tuesday the 11th onward sees the swell dropping back down to 3ft to 5ft, with clean but less punchy conditions. The last decent day is Friday the 14th of August, with a 5ft SSW swell (19-second period) in the afternoon and combined energy of 1755. It’s clean but not a standout compared to that 9th.

So, the best on offer: Wednesday the 5th of August afternoon for a clean, solid session for intermediates, and Sunday the 9th of August for the big-wave experts. Get on it.

Rusty.

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