Sawtell-The Island Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, mates, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what this stretch of coast has in store for us.

Right off the bat, we’ve got a standout window that’s going to get the veterans excited. The forecast zeros in on Sawtell-The Island for this Saturday morning, the 25th of July. We’re looking at a solid 5ft swell wrapping in from the SSE, with a period of 14 seconds – that’s some proper groundswell energy. The combined energy reading is a strong 1106, so there’s plenty of push behind it. What makes this a real winner is the wind: dead calm, absolutely glassy. For an exposed, advanced break that takes a SE swell, this is about as clean as it gets. It’s a wave for experienced surfers only at this size, but the conditions will be excellent. The water temp is sitting at 67°, which is pretty much average for the time of year, so nothing unusual there.

Saturday afternoon does drop off a little. The swell backs down to 4ft and the breeze swings onshore, making it more of a marginal call.

Sunday the 26th starts off clean again with a glassy 3ft SSE swell, but the wave energy is much weaker at 267, and the afternoon gets messy again with that onshore wind.

Monday the 27th is small and ordinary, with waves around 3ft and a period dropping to 9 seconds. The energy is weak (173), and although morning has a slight cross-off breeze, the quality just isn’t there.

From Tuesday the 28th through to the end of the month, it’s a pretty grim stretch. Swell sizes drop to 2ft and below, period gets short, and the energy readings are in the gutter – mostly double-digits under 100. There’s a gust of wind on the 30th and 31st that kicks up some choppy, 5ft swell, but it’s windswell with a period of just 6 seconds, and the wind is howling at 15 mph. That setup looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing, honestly.

The first few days of August aren’t much better. The 1st and 2nd are tiny, with a weird, very long period groundswell (18 seconds) but only 1ft of height. That kind of period at a beach break just washes through without much shape.

Here’s the real long-range highlight. Mark your calendars for Tuesday the 4th of August. The morning shows a solid 6ft SSE swell, period of 8 seconds, with zero wind – dead calm, glassy conditions. The energy jumps to 736. It’s a bit punchy with that shorter period, but for an advanced break, that’s very good surf.

Following that, Wednesday the 5th of August morning holds clean with a 5ft SE swell (period 9 seconds) and a light offshore breeze from the W. Energy is at 584. Another very good session.

Then Thursday the 6th of August morning is flat calm again, with a 3ft ESE swell carrying an 11-second period. The energy is sitting at 551. Perfect conditions for those who want a bit more finesse.

The only real standout in this whole run, the one that ticks all the boxes for quality, is that Saturday the 25th of July session. The long-range promise on the 4th and 5th is worth keeping an eye on, but it’s further out, so treat it as promising rather than locked in. The forecast does have a gap of a few slow days in the middle, so don’t bank on daily waves.

Stay keen, stay patient.

- Rusty

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