Scarborough Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here, and I’ve been staring at the charts for Scarborough Beach. The next 16 days are a real mixed bag, so let’s cut through the noise.

We’ve got a bit of a slow start, but there’s a window of clean, fun waves shaping up. The standout session is Monday the 27th morning. The swell is a solid 7ft out of the west-southwest, with a long period of 13 seconds – that’s proper groundswell energy. The wind is light from the SSE, coming cross-off, so the faces will be clean. The combined energy is pumping at 1606, which is solid. This is excellent surf for experienced surfers, so if you’ve got the skills, that’s your window.

The water temperature is sitting at 64°, which is a bit colder than normal for this time of year, so you’ll want a good wetsuit.

Now, after that, Monday afternoon gets a bit messy with cross-shore winds, and Tuesday morning (28th July) is worth a mention. We’ve got a 5ft swell from the same west-southwest direction, but the wind is offshore from the east at 9 mph, making for clean conditions. The swell period has dropped to 14 seconds, but it’s still got decent energy (985). It’s a good option for a more relaxed session, though the size is getting towards the top end for beginners.

There’s a solid run of cleaner days from the 2nd of August into the 4th. Sunday the 2nd has offshore easterly winds all day, with a 7ft swell in the morning and 6ft in the afternoon. The period holds at 14 seconds, and the combined energy is 1797 – that’s moderate-to-strong. It’s another excellent window for experienced surfers. Monday the 3rd and Tuesday the 4th also have offshore winds, with the swell dropping to 5ft and 5ft, making it more manageable. Tuesday morning the 4th is especially glassy – no wind at all – so the surface will be like a mirror.

Now, the back half of the forecast gets wild. On the 7th of August, the swell jumps to 12ft, and by the 8th it’s 15ft, with a big 18ft on the 8th afternoon. The 9th of August sees a massive 23ft morning swell from the west-southwest, with a period of 15 seconds. The combined energy is insane – 22,553. But here’s the thing: the wind is cross-onshore or onshore, and the notes say the swell is too big for this break. This is expert-only territory, and even then, it’s going to be a washing machine. For the average surfer, it’s a no-go. The setup looks far more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing.

We’ve got a couple of gaps with no real recommendations. The 30th and 31st of July are mostly poor, with small, messy surf. The 6th of August is a write-off with strong winds and rain. But overall, the consistent run of clean, offshore days from the 27th through to the 4th of August gives us plenty to work with.

Crowds at Scarborough Beach are sometimes an issue, so get in early for the best banks.

Rusty.

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