Scarborough South Bay Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, let’s take a look at what’s on offer.

First up, we’re looking at Scarborough South Bay, a beach and point setup that’s fairly exposed to the swell. The water temperature is sitting at 61°F, which is a touch warmer than normal for this time of year – nothing wild, just a nice little bonus.

To be honest, the next week and a half is a bit of a write-off. From Monday 27 July right through to Monday 10 August, it’s pretty grim. Swell is tiny, mostly 1ft to 3ft, with short periods around 8 seconds, and the combined energy is weak – often down in the 20s, 30s and 40s (22–181). Winds are mostly cross-off or cross-on, but the waves are just too small and weak to get excited about. There’s a couple of windows where the wind goes offshore, like Tuesday morning 28 July with a clean 2ft, but it’s still just not enough. The surf is poor.

There is a bit of a pulse showing around Tuesday 4 August, with some 2–2ft swell and the energy bumping up to 147–162, but the wind is cross-onshore and choppy, so it’s not worth paddling out for. That trend continues into Wednesday 5 August with 3ft from the NNE and energy hitting 256, but again, cross-onshore wind and light rain ruin it.

Friday 7 August is interesting but not for surfing – it jumps to 6ft from the east, but the period is a short 6 seconds, wind is cross-onshore, and the energy is 403. That’s a lot of churned-up, messy power. Honestly, that setup looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing.

Now, the standout – and it’s a long way off, so keep your fingers crossed – is Tuesday 11 August morning. We’ve got 5ft from the north at 9 seconds, with a light SSW cross-off breeze and clean conditions. The combined energy is 304 – moderate energy – and the forecast says “expect good surf conditions.” That’s the only real bright spot in the whole 16 days. The waves will have some shape, the wind is light, and it’s the best we’ve got.

So, bottom line: there’s a big gap of no decent surf from 27 July all the way until 11 August. That Tuesday morning session on the 11th is your best bet, but it’s a long-range call, so don’t book the day off work just yet. The rest of the window is pretty flat or messy.

Rusty.

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