Santa Cruz Harbour Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s cooking for the next couple of weeks.

We’re starting off with a bit of a slow builder. The first real session worth paddling out for is on Saturday morning, July 25th, at Santa Cruz Harbour. This is a beach and jetty setup, and it’s fairly consistent. The water is sitting about average for the time of year. Saturday morning we’ve got a 3ft SSW swell rolling in with a very long period of 21 seconds, and the combined energy is moderate to strong (923). The wind is glassy, light from the SW, so it’s going to be clean. That long period groundswell will be holding up well at this jetty and breakwater setup, giving you some proper shape. This is the standout of the whole run. The swell direction is a little off from the optimum (SSW), but with that energy and glassy conditions, it’s the best on offer.

Saturday afternoon the wind swings to a light cross, dropping the quality a bit for a 3ft swell. The weekend goes downhill from there. Sunday the 26th sees a cross-on wind, and the swell just goes marginal. Monday and Tuesday are all onshore and weak, with the swell barely hanging around 3ft to 4ft and short period, so it’s grovelly stuff. The combined energy is moderate (1019 on Monday afternoon) but the wind is not your friend.

From Wednesday the 29th right through to the end of the first week, the swell drops and the wind stays onshore. It’s a real flat spell. By Friday the 31st, the energy is weak (254) and the conditions are poor. No point in looking.

We get a tiny flicker of life on Saturday, August 1st. The morning is still onshore, but the afternoon goes glassy again with a 4ft S swell at 13 seconds. The combined energy is moderate (488). It’s rideable, but it’s a far cry from that first Saturday. That’s the only other window that might be worth a quick paddle.

After that, we’re into a long, dry spell. From Sunday the 2nd of August all the way through until Friday the 8th, the swell is tiny—1ft to 2ft—with weak energy (under 100). The wind is mostly onshore or cross-on, and it’s just poor. There’s no surf to speak of. The run continues flat through to the end of the forecast on Sunday the 9th.

So, bottom line: your one and only real standout is Saturday morning, July 25th. Get on it. The rest of the window is a write-off for paddling. If you’ve got a kite, those weak onshore days might be your only entertainment.

- Rusty

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