Salamumu Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s coming up for Salamumu.

This is a solid reef break that needs a specific SE swell direction to really shine, and for most of this 16-day run, we’re fighting onshore winds and messy conditions. The good news? There’s a very tight window of absolute magic right in the middle. The bad news? It’s surrounded by a lot of junk.

The water temperature is sitting at 80°, which is actually bang on average for this time of year – no surprises there.

We’ve got a long gap of poor to marginal surf from Saturday 15 August right through to the end of Monday 17 August. The swell is small (2 ft to 3 ft) and the wind is cross-shore, making for lumpy, uninviting conditions. Not worth paddling out.

Then, things really turn around. Tuesday 18 August is the standout. The morning brings a clean 5 ft SW groundswell (period 16 seconds) with a cross-offshore breeze from the NE at 12 mph. The energy is moderate (1073). By the afternoon, it gets even better: the wind goes glassy – dead calm from the north at just 3 mph – and the swell bumps up to 5 ft, still with that long 16-second period. The energy jumps to strong (1286). This is excellent surf for experienced surfers. The reef will be handling that long-period groundswell beautifully, offering well-shaped, powerful lines. If you can score it, this is the session.

Wednesday 19 August is a step down. The wind swings cross-onshore (SSE then SE) and the swell drops a touch to 5 ft. The conditions are marginal, with a light chop building through the day. A far cry from the day before.

And then, from Thursday 20 August onwards, things get ugly. The wind cranks up from the southeast, blowing strong and cross-onshore, with gusts hitting 25 mph. The swell builds to 7 ft from the south and SSW, with periods dropping to 12-14 seconds. The energy is very strong (over 1700), but the surface is just a mess of lumpy, onshore chop. This continues day after day, right through to the end of the month. For a reef break, that's a write-off – it’s more suited to a kite session than a surf.

There is a brief flicker on Thursday 27 August with a decent 4 ft to 4 ft SW groundswell (period 18 seconds) and strong energy (1198), but the wind is still a solid 22 mph cross-onshore. The conditions are poor, so it’s a tease at best.

Bottom line: The only real window is Tuesday 18 August. Get on it. The rest of the forecast is a long, windy, onshore grind.

Rusty.

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