Rockpiles Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, let’s switch to the old system. Rusty here, breaking down the Rockpiles outlook.

We’re looking at a 16-day stretch that’s more of a waiting game than a scoring session. Right out of the gate, from Friday 17th through Sunday 19th, it’s a hard pass. The wind is a cross-off from the ENE at 18 to 25 mph, which keeps the surface clean, but the swell is tiny and short-period. We’re talking 4ft to 7ft from the E and ENE, but with a period of only 6 to 8 seconds. That’s weak, wind-driven crap with combined energy in the low hundreds. Not worth a second look.

From Monday 20th through Wednesday 22nd, the energy picks up a bit as the swell shifts to the south. You’ll see some long-period groundswell, like 3ft at 16 seconds on Monday afternoon, and even 2ft at 24 seconds on Wednesday morning – that’s a very long period. The combined energy climbs into the moderate range, 500 to 791. But the height is still tiny, and the wind is a fresh breeze at 18 to 22 mph. The charts are calling it "marginal," and with scores of 1/10, it’s a no-go.

Things start to get a pulse on Thursday 23rd. We get some E and ENE swell around 5ft with a period of 11 to 12 seconds, and the combined energy jumps to 1160 to 1170 – that’s strong. The wind is still a cross-off at 18 mph, so it’s clean. But it’s still only a 2/10. The swell direction isn’t dialed in for Rockpiles, which prefers a SSE.

Now, the real energy shows up from Saturday 25th through Thursday 30th. The combined energy goes nuclear, with four-digit numbers like 1411, 1485, and even 1927 and 2444. That’s very strong. The swell direction is finally from the SSE and S, the optimum for Rockpiles. Periods are 14 to 20 seconds, so it’s proper groundswell. The catch? The wind is still a relentless cross-off from the ENE and NE at 18 to 22 mph. It’s clean, but the scores are stuck at 1 to 3/10. The swell height during this period is a mix of 3ft to 8ft, and on Tuesday 28th afternoon we see 8ft at 14 seconds from the ENE. That’s expert-only size, but the direction is off and the wind is still cross-off. It’s a lot of energy with no payoff.

The best of a bad bunch is Wednesday 29th and Thursday 30th. We’ve got solid 7ft to 7ft swell from the ENE at 12 to 13 seconds, with the wind dropping to a moderate breeze of 12 mph. The scores tick up to 3/10. That’s the best on offer, but it’s still marginal. The size is getting up there, so beginners should give it a miss. For experienced surfers, the wind is cleaner and the swell has some grunt, but it’s not a classic Rockpiles day.

Finally, on Saturday 1st August, it drops right back off to small, weak windswell.

So, the best bet is the last few days of July, with Wednesday 29th and Thursday 30th being the most promising, but it’s a long grind to get there. Water temp is about normal for this time of year.

Rusty.

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