Salamumu Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let's have a look at what's coming down the pipe for our local spot.

Right off the bat, I gotta be straight with you – the next 16 days are a tough pill to swallow. We're looking at a long, dry spell with hardly anything worth paddling out for. The first recommendation doesn't even pop up until Monday, July 20th, and even then, it's a real struggle.

From Friday the 17th through Sunday the 19th, don't even bother. The wind is howling out of the ESE at 25 mph, smashing across the water. We've got consistent swell, mostly around 7 ft to 7 ft from the SSE and SE, but with that strong cross-onshore wind, it's just a blown-out, messy soup. The combined swell energy is hefty, but it's all for nothing with those conditions.

Monday the 20th looks a little less angry, but it's still not good. The morning sees a 6 ft SE swell with a solid 13-second period, and the wind backs off to a 22 mph cross-shore breeze. This gives us a "marginal" call – the energy is strong, but it's gonna be lumpy and cross-chop. The afternoon gets worse, with the wind swinging back onshore. This is the best of a bad lot, but honestly, it's only for the keenest and most frustrated among us.

Tuesday the 21st has a moment that's interesting but flawed. The morning shows a 4 ft swell from the S with a very long 20-second period and the wind drops to a 19 mph cross-shore. The energy is pumping. That long period means proper groundswell, which at a reef break like Salamumu could produce some nice lines. But that cross-shore wind will still leave it a bit lumpy and tricky. It's a "marginal" call. The afternoon sees the swell shift to the SW and the wind goes cross-onshore again, ruining it.

From Wednesday the 22nd all the way through to the end of the window on Saturday, August 1st, it's just rinse and repeat. We get pulses of swell, mostly from the S and SW, between 3 ft and 5 ft, with periods varying from a short 6 seconds to a long 19 seconds. The combined energy fluctuates from weak to strong. But the wind, almost without exception, is a moderate to fresh cross-onshore breeze from the ESE or SE. It's choppy, lumpy, and just nasty.

So what's the best on offer? If I had to pick a standout, it would be the Tuesday morning, July 21st. That 4 ft, 20-second groundswell from the S has real potential for shape, and it's our only window where the wind is truly cross-shore. It won't be perfect, but it's the closest we'll get to a clean wave in this whole forecast.

The water temp is sitting at a warm 82°, which is right on the money for this time of year – nothing unusual there.

To be honest, with this persistent cross-onshore wind and the swell running straight into it, the setup here looks far more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing for most of this period.

Keep your head up, though. The pattern has to break eventually.

Rusty.

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