Shark Island (Cronulla) Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G'day, Rusty here. Look, I've gotta be straight with you – the next couple of weeks are a bit of a mixed bag for the Cronulla stretch. There's a real tease of something special mid-next week, but you'll need to pick your moment and be patient through a lot of flat spells.

We start this Friday the 10th with the best surf on offer across the whole forecast. Shark Island (Cronulla) is the standout. We've got a solid 5ft swell pumping in from the SE with a groundswell period of 10 seconds, and the energy is packing a punch at moderate 533. The wind is a light cross-off from the SSE at just 3 mph, so it'll be clean and lined up – this is proper. The water temp is 64°, which is about average for July, nothing weird going on there. This is the one to chase, no question.

Saturday the 11th fades. The swell drops to 4ft in the morning from the SE, period hangs in at 9 seconds, but the wind swings NW at 9 mph and goes cross. It's a step down and the conditions get ordinary. By Saturday afternoon, the swell eases to 3ft from the ESE with a longer 11-second period, but the wind turns onshore from the NE, which kills it. Sunday the 12th is tiny and windswept – 2ft swell with a fresh 19 mph cross-off that'll leave it blown out, dropping to 2ft by the arvo. Monday the 13th is barely a ripple, 0.7ft from the south with a 12-second period but no size.

Now, here's the real promise. Wednesday the 15th sees a rapid jump – morning brings a 7ft swell from the south, period at 9 seconds, and the combined energy rockets to a very strong 1140. The wind is a clean cross-off from the SSW at 9 mph. At 7ft, that's getting into expert territory at a reef like Shark Island – definitely not for beginners. It's a marginal call due to tide and size, but the energy is there. By Wednesday afternoon, the swell drops to 6ft, period holds at 10 seconds, but the wind goes cross from the SE, which will put a bit of texture on the face.

Thursday the 16th, the swell continues to ease to 4ft from the south in the morning, period at 9 seconds, with a light offshore cross-off from the west at 6 mph. It's surfable but ordinary – you'll be scratching for the better ones. After that, the rest of the run into the following week is a slow death. Levels drop below 3ft, mostly around 1ft to 2ft, with periods that bounce around. There's a sniff of an offshore breeze here and there, particularly Wednesday the 22nd with a 16 mph cross-off from the west, and Thursday the 23rd with a clean offshore from the SSW at 16 mph on the Friday morning, but the swell is just too small to get excited about – 2ft to 2ft from the ENE with short 6 to 8-second periods.

Honestly, you've got two small windows: Friday the 10th afternoon is the pick of the bunch, and Wednesday the 15th morning for the more experienced crew when it's big and powerful. The rest of the time, you're better off checking the cams or doing something else. The long-range stuff into the second week looks promising in the wind department but lacks any real swell to work with.

Rusty.

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