Shelley Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Right, mate, let’s have a look at what’s cookin’ for Shelley Beach.

The weekend kicks off with a bit of fun-sized surf, but don’t get too excited just yet. It’s a fairly clean start, but things go flat pretty quickly after that. We’re lookin’ at a real dry spell from late Sunday all the way through to the middle of the following week - a proper gap of about three to four days with bugger-all to ride.

Saturday morning, 11 July, is your best bet this side of the forecast. Shelley Beach is showing a clean 1.1m SE swell with a light offshore breeze out of the NW. It’s got that nice, organised look to it - the kind of morning where you can just paddle out and enjoy the quiet. The water temp is sitting at 66°, which is pretty much normal for this time of year, so no surprises there. Expect some clean, user-friendly waves for the intermediate crew. Crowds can show up here sometimes, but that early session should be worth it.

Saturday afternoon sees the swell drop a touch to 0.9m from the ESE, wind shifts to a cross-off from the NNE. Still clean, still fun, but this is the last decent window for a few days. The combined swell energy is sitting at 327 - moderate but workable.

Then it all goes pear-shaped. Sunday morning, 12 July, the wind picks up to 25 km/h from the WNW, and the swell drops to 0.7m. By Monday and Tuesday it’s down to barely a ripple - 0.2m or less, with energy readings in the single digits and low twenties. Not worth paddling out for. Wednesday, 15 July, the swell jumps up to 2.4m from the S, but it’s a cross-onshore mess with 30 km/h winds. That combined swell energy hits a huge 1742, but the wind kills it - this is really only interesting for kite surfers, not for a paddle surfer. Wednesday afternoon sees that swell push even higher to 3.0m, but again the wind is fresh and cross-shore, making it lumpy and unruly. That’s expert-only territory, and even then, it’s far from ideal.

Thursday and Friday are a mix of mid-range swell but poor wind - mostly cross-on or cross-shore with chop, so pretty average.

Now, if you can wait, there is a true standout comin’ up. Sunday morning, 19 July. Shelley Beach gets a lovely clean 1.6m E swell with glassy conditions - a very light offshore from the NW at just 5 km/h. The combined swell energy is a strong 561, and the consistency is there. This is the pick of the whole outlook. The wave quality will be superb, and if you can get out early, you’ll have clean, groomed lines worth the wait.

Monday, 20 July, also looks solid with a gentle offshore from the NW in the morning, 1.3m E swell, and clean conditions. Good continuation of that run.

The real heavy-hitter for the experienced crew arrives Wednesday, 22 July, and Thursday, 23 July. We’re talkin’ 2.0m to 2.4m S swell with clean, cross-off winds from the WSW. That’s heavy energy - readings up around 1428 - and excellent shape for those who know what they’re doing. Definitely not for beginners, but the advanced crowd will be all over it. Keep in mind the swell direction is directly from the south, which suits Shelley Beach’s exposed setup perfectly.

After that, Friday 24 July sees the swell drop back to a more manageable 0.9m from the S, clean, good conditions again. But then the weekend of 25 July turns windy and messy once more.

One more standout in the far-out part of the forecast: Sunday morning, 26 July. Glassy conditions - dead calm wind from the NNW - with a 1.2m S swell. The combined energy is 221 - moderate - but that glassy surface will make it look like a mirror. Perfect for a peaceful session.

So, if I’m callin’ it, the true standouts here are Sunday 19 July for the clean, fun E swell, and the Wednesday-Thursday window of 22-23 July for the big, clean south swell aimed at the experienced surfer. Get in before the crowds, especially on the Sunday.

Rusty.

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