Right Point (Cat Bay) Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G'day, Rusty here, lookin' at the charts for around the Cat Bay area, specifically Right Point. It's a classic point break set-up, and it's been a bit of a mixed bag lately, but there's some light at the end of the tunnel if you're patient.

The water temp's sittin' at about 56°, which is pretty much bang on average for this time of year, so no surprises there.

Right now, we're in a bit of a dry spell. The first decent window doesn't show up until Friday the 17th of July. The morning ain't much to write home about – a bit of a cross-on breeze and a bumpy 5ft swell from the S/W. But hold on, because Friday afternoon things get real interesting. The wind is set to go glassy, light and variable from the W. That's a game-changer. The same 5ft S/W swell, with a long 16-second period, will be lining up beautifully. The wave energy is strong at 1330, and conditions are lookin' clean. This is the standout session for the first week. It's a point break, so that long-period groundswell will peel off nicely.

Saturday the 18th has a chance with a bit of an onshore breeze in the morning, but the afternoon glass-off returns with a smaller 4ft S/W swell. It's a solid option if you missed Friday.

Now, after that, we hit a bit of a lull. From Sunday the 19th right through to Tuesday the 28th of July, it's a real struggle. The wind is mostly onshore or cross-onshore, and the swell drops off or gets messy. There's a few days where the swell picks up a bit, like Thursday the 23rd with a 7ft S/W swell, but it's being hammered by a fresh cross-onshore breeze, making it lumpy and poor. Not worth paddling out for.

Things start to look a bit more promising around Wednesday the 29th of July, with a 6ft S/W swell and a lighter cross-on breeze, but it's still marginal. The real standout, though, is way out in the forecast on Friday the 31st of July. Now, this is a long way off, so take it with a grain of salt, but the charts are showing a massive 13ft to 15ft S/W swell with a very long period. The wind is predicted to be cross-off and offshore from the E and SE. That's a dream lineup for a point break. However, the wave energy is extreme (8496 to 16106), and the swell is simply too big for this break. It's a case of "wind and tide favorable, but the swell is predicted to be too big for this break." For the experts only, and even then, it's a maybe. The Saturday after that, the 1st of August, looks more manageable with an 12ft S/W swell and offshore SE winds, but again, it's a big one for the point.

So, to sum it up: your best bet in the near future is Friday the 17th of July afternoon. Glassy conditions and a solid 5ft S/W groundswell. That's the one. The rest of the window is a waiting game, with a couple of promising but very large and uncertain swells at the very end.

Rusty.

Read more