Royal Palms State Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here, checkin’ in from the coast. To be straight with you, the next couple of weeks are gonna test the patience of any surfer in this part of the world. We’ve got a long stretch of pretty ordinary to rubbish conditions before a couple of windows pop up that might just be worth paddlin’ out for. The water temp is about average for the time of year, so no surprises there. Let’s break it down.

Right now, and for the next several days, it’s a tough watch. Royal Palms State Beach is a sheltered reef and point, but it’s inconsistent and the swell is weak. For the first week, from Thursday the 16th through to the end of the week, we’re looking at tiny swell around 1ft to 2ft, coming from the SW. The period is high, 16-19 seconds, which is lovely long-period groundswell, but there’s just no energy to back it up – the combined energy is sitting between 148 and 280 (weak). The winds are mostly cross or cross-on, leaving a bit of chop on the surface. It’s just not worth wettin’ a wetsuit for. The weekend of the 19th and 20th sees a bump to 3ft swell from the S, but the wind is still cross-on, and the energy picks up to 616 (moderate) on the Sunday morning, but the wave comment says “marginal” at best. It’s messy.

The whole first week and into the second week, from Monday the 21st through to Wednesday the 23rd, it’s more of the same – small swell, 2ft to 3ft, with cross-on breezes. The energy is moderate (291 to 475), but the surf quality is just poor. There’s a glimmer of hope on Thursday the 23rd afternoon. The wind swings to SW and goes glassy – dead calm, offshore. The swell is 3ft from the S with a 14-second period, and the combined energy is 475 (moderate). The wave comment says “expect good surf conditions”. This is the first real standout. The glassy conditions will make it clean, but remember, inconsistent breaks mean you’ll be waiting for sets. The swell direction is S, which is a bit off from the optimum SW direction, but with glassy wind, it’s the best we’ve got for a while.

Then we get a bigger pulse on Friday the 24th morning. The swell jumps to 2ft from the SW with a very long 24-second period, and the energy hits 843 (moderate). The wind is light cross-on, but the period is so long it’ll be walled up and straight at a beach break, but this is a reef and point, so that long period actually suits it. The wave comment says “marginal”, but the energy is there. The real standout for the whole forecast period, though, is Saturday the 25th morning. The swell sets to 4ft from the SSW with a 15-second period, and the combined energy rockets to 1173 (strong). The wind is cross-shore from the SE at 9 mph, which is manageable. The wave comment calls it “marginal”, but that’s the biggest, most energetic swell we see. For a sheltered spot, 4ft is a fun size, and the SSW direction is close to the optimum SW. This is the best session on offer. After that, it tails off again. Sunday the 26th through to the 31st sees the swell dropping back to 2ft to 3ft, with mostly cross-on or onshore winds, and the energy fades from 675 (moderate) down to 175 (weak). The surf quality is poor to marginal.

So, to sum it up: the first week is a write-off. Thursday the 23rd afternoon offers a glassy, clean little window, and Saturday the 25th morning is the standout with the biggest swell and strong energy. Get out there if you can, but don’t expect much else.

Rusty.

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