Sandy Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s be straight with you. The next couple of weeks are looking pretty grim for Sandy Beach, so don’t get your hopes up right away.

We’ve got a real dry spell on our hands. Looking at the whole 16-day window, the surf is mostly a no-go. The first few days are a write-off, and after that, it’s a long stretch of poor conditions. You’re looking at a gap of nearly a week from the start where there’s just nothing worth paddling out for.

The first hint of anything rideable won’t come until Tuesday, July 28th. Even then, it’s marginal. Tuesday morning, the swell is 7 ft from the East, with a period of 13 seconds. That’s some decent energy, with a combined energy of 1825, but it’s a bit of a beast. Over 5 ft, so it’s getting too big for the beginners. The wind is a cross-offshore from the North-Northeast at 15 mph, which will keep it reasonably clean. Tuesday afternoon stays similar with 8 ft East swell, but the wind picks up a bit.

If you’re an experienced surfer, Tuesday morning might be your only real look. The water temp is a warm 80°, which is pretty much bang on average for this time of year. That’s about the only positive.

After that, it turns ugly. From Wednesday the 29th onwards, the wind swings onshore and the quality drops off a cliff. We get a mix of cross-onshore and strong cross-shore winds, with the swell getting shorter and messier. The energy drops, and the conditions are just lumpy, choppy, and poor. By Friday the 31st, the wind is howling from the East-Northeast at 25 mph, and the swell is 7 ft with a short 8-second period. That’s a nasty combo. For the beach-and-reef setup at Sandy Beach, with that strong cross-shore wind and chunky, short-period swell, this setup looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing.

The second week doesn’t offer any relief. It’s a relentless run of poor conditions through the 1st of August all the way to the 9th. The swell stays between 4 ft and 7 ft, but the wind is always a problem, and the periods are short. There’s a brief blip on the 10th and 11th of August with a tiny, long-period south-southwest swell (2 ft, 16 seconds), but that’s not going to do anything at this exposed beach. It’s a classic case of a blank run for the area.

So, for the standouts, it’s really just that Tuesday morning window. If you’re keen and experienced, you might get a few. Otherwise, give it a miss.

Rusty.

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