Salamumu Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, I’m Rusty. Let’s have a look at what’s shaping up over the next couple of weeks.

Right now, we’ve got a bit of a gap before anything decent comes through at Salamumu (Samoa). For the first few days, the trade winds are hammering it from the SSE and SE, and the wave quality is just not there. Tuesday the 4th kicks off with a 4 ft SW swell, but it’s a 13-second period and the wind is cross-on, so it’s messy and not worth paddling out for. The combined swell energy is moderate at 570 on Tuesday morning, but it’s a no-go. Wednesday and Thursday see the swell building to 5 ft and 6 ft, but the wind is fresh cross-onshore and lumpy, keeping the scores low. It’s a real struggle.

Friday the 7th and Saturday the 8th – the swell keeps climbing, hitting 7 ft on Friday and 10 ft on Saturday, but the wind is pumping strong cross-onshore and near gale, blowing everything out. This is more like a kite-surfing setup than something for a paddle board. The combined energy is strong, hitting 2114 on Saturday morning, but the conditions are just too rough. The period drops to 8 seconds on Friday, which is short and weak, and while it stretches to 10 seconds on Saturday, it’s still a mess.

Sunday the 9th stays poor, with 8 ft swell and strong cross-onshore winds. The energy is still up there, 1100 to 1643, but the quality is zero. Monday the 10th is where things get a bit interesting, but not in a good way. The swell jumps to 10 ft from the S with a 16-second period – that’s a very long period groundswell, meaning it’s packing serious energy (5157). But the wind is a strong cross-shore, creating messy cross-chop. That’s expert-only territory, and even then, it’s blown out. The period is so long it’s better suited to a point or reef break, but with these winds, it’s a washout.

From Tuesday the 11th through to Friday the 14th, the swell drops and the wind stays cross-shore or cross-off. The combined energy drops too, from 1611 down to 303. There’s a risk of thunderstorms in the middle of the week, and the wave heights are between 2 ft and 7 ft, but the conditions are marginal at best. Nothing to get excited about.

Finally, on Saturday the 15th and Sunday the 16th, we start to see a glimmer. The swell is small, around 3 ft to 4 ft from the SW, but the wind swings to cross-offshore, and the period is long at 16 to 17 seconds. The combined energy is moderate, around 898 to 1007, and the wave state is described as clean. This is a session for the patient surfer on a bigger board – the long period will make it a bit walled-off at the beach breaks, but it should be clean and glassy. The crowds are sometimes present, so you might have a few others out there.

The standout, if you can call it that, is Sunday the 16th and Monday the 17th. The swell is 4 ft, SW direction, with a 17-second period, cross-off winds from the ENE at 12 mph, and clean conditions. The combined energy is moderate (1007 on Sunday morning). It’s not huge, but it’s the best we’ve got. The water temperature is about average for this time of year, so no surprises there.

For the second week, the outlook is quiet. The swell drops to 2 ft to 3 ft, and the winds are a mix of cross-off and cross. The energy is low, between 303 and 898. Nothing stands out as a must-surf. The window from the 15th to the 18th is the only time you’ll get a clean wave, but it’s small and requires patience.

So, overall, there’s a long gap of poor surf from the start until mid-month. The best bet is the weekend of the 16th, with small but clean SW swell under light offshore winds. It’s not a classic, but it’s surfable.

Rusty.

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