Salamumu Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Righto, let’s have a look at what’s on offer for the next couple of weeks for Salamumu. This reef break is exposed and it usually wants a good SE swell to get cranking, but the outlook is a bit of a tough one. Water temp here is sittin’ around 81°F, which is pretty standard for this time of the year—no surprises there.

To be honest, we’ve got a real rough patch to start. For the first week or so, from Saturday the 22nd of August right through until the end of that week, it’s pretty much a write-off. The wind is hammerin’ in from the SE and ESE, cross-onshore day after day, sometimes gustin’ to 25 mph. The wave heights bob around from 3 ft up to 6 ft, but the wind’s got it all torn up—lumpy, messy, cross-chop. The combined swell energy reads moderate to strong at times (1670), but it don’t mean a thing when the wind’s got it that ugly. Zero scores through this whole stretch. It’s a tough run, a full six days or so with nothin’ worth paddlin’ out for.

By Sunday the 30th of August, we start to see the wind shiftin’ to a cross-off from the ENE, and that’s a big change. The conditions clean right up. The surf is still modest though—around 4 ft to 4 ft, but it’s a long-period groundswell from the south, 17 to 18 seconds. That’s a proper long period, and on a reef like Salamumu it could hold up real nice. The combined energy is still moderate (1088 to 1108), but the clean conditions bump the score up to a 2 out of 10. It won’t be epic, but it’s the best we’ve got in this outlook. Crowds might show up now and then, which is likely given it’s the only decent window.

That little clean spell carries into Monday the 31st of August with cross-off wind again, but the swell drops to 3 ft and the energy is weak (523). Still, for a patient surfer, a clean 3 ft reef wave can be fun.

After that, we slide back into cross and cross-onshore wind again for the first week of September. A few days show some long-period SW groundswell (15 to 19 seconds) and moderate combined energy (up to 1408 on Saturday the 5th of September), especially that one morning on the 5th with ENE cross-off wind making it clean again. The swell sits around 4 ft, which is a fun size, but the wind’s fresh and there’s a cross-chop, so it’s only a marginal call (score of 2).

Overall, the standout moment in this whole 16-day window is Sunday the 30th of August. It’s the cleanest, most rideable combo of a small but long-period southerly groundswell and light offshore-angled wind. If you’re keen, that’s the session to target. The rest is mostly a battle with the wind.

Rusty

Read more