Rhino Head Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s coming up.

We’re starting off a bit slow, but there’s some real promise on the horizon. The first good window shapes up on Friday morning, July 24th, at Rhino Head. It’s a sheltered reef break, and it’s fairly consistent. The water temp is about average for this time of year, so nothing wild there. Friday morning brings some clouds and a cross-off breeze from the WSW at 9 mph. Swell is a solid 5 ft from the SSW with a very long 15-second period, pumping in a lot of energy (1069). The conditions are clean, and the crowd factor is listed as “sometimes,” so it could be a bit busy, but it’s worth it for that quality. The swell direction is a good match for the optimum SW. This is the standout of the first week.

Friday afternoon drops off quickly, and the rest of the weekend into Monday is pretty ordinary — small, messy, or just not worth the paddle. Tuesday the 28th, however, looks interesting. The morning has a clean 5 ft swell from the WSW with offshore WNW wind at 16 mph, moderate energy (835), and good conditions. The afternoon gets a bigger 6 ft SW swell with a 15-second period, very high energy (1481), but it’s flagged as questionable for tide. Still, if you can time it, that afternoon could be a ripper.

Wednesday and Thursday are more marginal, with lighter winds and smaller swell. Friday the 31st has a small but clean 4 ft SSW swell with a 19-second period — very long period — and light cross-off winds. That’s more of a finesse session.

Now, the big one. Saturday, August 1st, is a standout. The morning has a 6 ft SSW swell, 18-second period, with clean cross-off breeze from the N at 12 mph. The afternoon is even better: 7 ft SSW swell, 18-second period, with very high energy (2547) and a gentle cross-off breeze. That’s a proper groundswell. For a reef like Rhino Head, this is prime. The size is getting into expert territory, but it’s clean. Sunday the 2nd also holds well, with a clean 6 ft SW swell in the afternoon, offshore WNW wind, and very good conditions.

The following week is a bit of a mixed bag. Monday the 3rd has a 7 ft SW swell onshore, which is blown out. Tuesday and Wednesday are mostly poor with onshore or cross-shore winds. Thursday the 6th has a clean 5 ft SSW swell, but it’s moderate energy. After that, it fades fast into tiny, weak surf for the remainder of the forecast.

So, the best on offer is Friday morning July 24th for a mellow, clean start, and then the real heavy hitter is Saturday August 1st through Sunday August 2nd for the biggest, cleanest, most powerful swell of the window. The rest is mostly filler or blown out.

Rusty.

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