Sanur Reef Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here.

Look, I’ll be straight with you – the next 16 days are a tough slog for any of us wanting a proper wave. The only spot on the radar is Sanur Reef, and it’s a tricky one. This is a sheltered, inconsistent reef break that only works on a solid south swell, and we’re not getting the winds to play nice. For most of the period, we’re looking at a persistent cross-onshore breeze that’s going to keep things choppy and messy. The combined wave energy is strong, ranging from 1073 to 7780, so there’s plenty of power in the water, but it’s not translating into quality surf. The water temp is about average for this time of year, nothing unusual to report.

We kick off Friday July 31st with clear skies but a gusty ESE wind at 16 mph. Swell is 4 ft from the SSW with a very long 17-second period, but that cross-on wind and moderate breeze just kills it – poor conditions, score a zero. Saturday August 1st is a tiny step up, swell 4 ft to 5 ft, still from the SSW, but still a cross-on breeze. It’s marginal at best, with a gentle breeze keeping it fairly choppy. That trend holds through the weekend and into the first week of August – swell sticks around 5 ft to 7 ft, all from the SSW, but the wind never lets up. The second week rolls in, and the swell starts to build. By Thursday August 13th, the period jumps to a massive 23 seconds – that’s a very long groundswell, meaning more energy but those waves could be tricky here at a reef, rolling through straight. Wave energy hits 4940 by the afternoon, and we finally see a score of 2 out of 10. Still, that light to gentle cross-onshore breeze is the best we get.

Now, the one true standout window lands on Friday August 14th. The morning shows 10 ft of SSW swell at an 18-second period, and the wind drops to 6 mph from the southeast – that’s a light cross-onshore with only small wind ripples, the cleanest it’s going to get. Wave energy is a massive 7780. The afternoon sees swell push 12 ft, same direction, with a gentle cross-onshore. This is expert territory – over 8 ft and that reef is no place for beginners. It’s still not perfect, but this is the best on offer. Saturday August 15th holds 10 ft but the wind picks back up to 9 mph and we get some rain showers.

The biggest letdown here is that Sanur Reef is already inconsistent and rarely breaks, and this stretch of weather is doing us no favours. There are long gaps of several days where the surf is just not worth paddling out. For the majority of this 16-day window, the setup looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing, given the persistent cross-onshore wind and decent swell.

Keep an eye on that Friday August 14th, but don’t hold your breath.

Rusty.

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