Rockpiles Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Righto, grab a coffee and settle in, because Rockpiles is in for a bit of a rough patch. I've got to be straight with you – the next 16 days look pretty grim. The wind is a constant problem, and the swell is mostly short-period, wind-affected stuff. There's a lot of cross-off shore breeze, which is never ideal for a reef break, and it's blowing hard enough to mess up the surface for most of the first week. The wave energy is moderate at best, but it's all junk.

We're looking at a long dry spell. The first solid recommendation doesn't really show up until the morning of Saturday the 24th, over two weeks away. That's a long time to wait. Even then, it's only a marginal call.

The water temperature here at Rockpiles is sitting at 79°F, which is about normal for this time of year, so at least you won't be freezing while you're getting skunked.

Let's run through the calendar. Friday the 10th through to the morning of Saturday the 12th is all poor surf. The combined energy is in the 500s to 721, which is moderate, but the swell is just 6ft to 7ft of short-period, 7-second wind swell from the ENE. The wind is a stiff 22 to 25 mph cross-off. It's not worth the paddle.

Sunday the 13th and Monday the 14th are a little better – the energy drops a bit, and the swell height comes down to 6ft, but the period is still 7 or 8 seconds. The wind is still a fresh cross-off. It's a "marginal" call, but honestly, it's still not good. The combined energy (578 to 631) is still moderate.

Then we get a few days of tiny, long-period slop. From the afternoon of Tuesday the 14th through to the end of the week, we see these 2ft to 2ft waves from the SW or SSW with periods of 16 to 17 seconds. That's a classic long-period groundswell, but it's so small it's barely breaking. The wind is still cross-off. The energy values (273 to 500) are moderate but the size is just too small. Don't even think about it.

The next week is more of the same. The weekend of the 19th and 20th brings back 5ft to 7ft of that short-period, wind-affected ENE swell, with the wind howling at 22 to 25 mph. It's a mess.

Finally, we get to the tail end of the run. The standouts, if you can call them that, are the morning of Saturday the 24th and Sunday the 25th. On the Saturday morning, the swell is 5ft from the ENE, period 7 seconds, but the wind drops to a moderate 12 mph cross-off. The combined energy is 470. It's still short-period and choppy, but it's the cleanest wave of the entire window. The afternoon of the 24th and the morning of the 25th have these tiny 2ft and 2ft S swells with very long periods (17 to 20 seconds). The wind is better, 16 mph cross-off, but the size is just too small for a reef.

For a reef break like Rockpiles, the best call is the morning of the 24th. It's still not a classic, but it's the only time the wind isn't completely ruining it and there's a bit of size. The swell direction is ENE, which is cross-off for this spot, but with lighter wind it might be rideable. It's a "marginal" call, but it's the best of a bad lot.

If you can wait, that's your window. Otherwise, put the board away for a fortnight.

Rusty.

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