Sakawa River Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here from the Sakawa River. We’ve got a real mixed bag coming our way over the next couple of weeks and nothing that’s going to have you calling in sick for work. The window starts on Wednesday, July 8th, and honestly, it’s a slow grind for a lot of it.

The water temp is sitting at 75°, which is just a shade cooler than normal for this time of year – nothing you’d really notice on a sunny day.

First up, Wednesday morning, July 8th. We’ve got chest-high stuff, coming in from the SE at 5ft. The wind is a light E cross-onshore so there’s a bit of texture on it, and the period’s at 14 seconds – that's a decent groundswell pushing in, but the combined energy is real strong (1512). The afternoon sees the swell bump up to a solid 6ft from the SSE, but the wind swings south and stays cross-on, making it a bit lumpy. The setup looks more interesting for kite surfing than a paddle session.

Thursday, July 9th, stays similar in size at 5ft, but the morning has that clean southeast wind going straight onshore. It’s not great. Friday the 10th, the morning is your best bet with a clean 6ft S swell and that light SE offshore wind. It’s the closest we get to clean all week. But by the afternoon it gets messy again.

The weekend is a write-off. Saturday and Sunday see the swell hold from the south and southwest, but the winds are cross-on and picking up, making it choppy and unappealing. The energy dips hard by Sunday afternoon (558), and from Monday the 13th through to Wednesday the 15th, the swell drops off to knee-high junk. Poor surf conditions all round. That’s a four-day stretch with nothing on offer.

Things start to whisper again on Thursday the 16th with waist-high SE swell, but the wind’s not playing ball. There’s a glimmer Friday afternoon, July 17th, when a 5ft SE swell meets a light cross-offshore wind from the NNE – that’ll clean it up, but it's still only marginal tide conditions.

Then we get a little pulse of energy on Sunday, July 19th. The morning sees a solid 8ft SE groundswell (2177 combined energy) with a 15-second period – that’s proper long-period groundswell. The wind is cross-shore from the NE, keeping it just about rideable. For the river mouth, that longer period might make it break a bit straight, but you could find a corner. This is your one standout window for intermediate surfers.

Monday, July 20th, is a monster. The swell peaks at 13ft from the SE (7832 combined energy – that’s very strong) with near-perfect offshore wind. Before you get excited, the forecast says it’s simply too big for this break – expert-only territory and even then, dangerous. Skip it. It drops back to a manageable 8ft on Tuesday the 21st, but the period drops to 13 seconds and the wind is cross-on again.

The tail end of the forecast, Thursday July 23rd, has more size – 10ft from the SE (4672 combined energy) – but it’s the same story: big, messy, and cross-onshore.

Honestly, if you’re itching for a paddle, Friday morning July 10th is your call for clean lines on a chest-high S swell. Otherwise, the Sunday the 19th window is the only time the river gets a bit of juice with halfway decent wind. It’s a slow period for the Sakawa.

Rusty.

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