Shichirigahama Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, grab your board, let’s have a look at what’s coming up. It’s a bit of a slow burn out there, but there’s light at the end of the tunnel.

The start of this stretch is pretty gutless. We’ve got a long run of small, weak surf that just isn’t going to get your heart racing. From Thursday the 10th right through to the 18th, we’re looking at ankle-biters and knee-high dribble, mostly under 3ft. The offshore winds are keeping things clean, but with energy readings mostly in the double digits, like 102 on Thursday afternoon, there’s just nothing behind it. The water is a touch warmer than normal for this time of year, sitting at around 82°, which is nice, but you’ll be doing more floating than surfing. It’s a whole week of not much, so you might want to find something else to do.

Then the game changes. Friday the 18th sees a pulse of long-period energy arrive in the afternoon, but the wind is howling from the north at 22 mph and the swell is still messy. Skip that. The real action starts on Saturday the 19th. That’s when we get a proper groundswell showing up. The morning sees 7ft of south-southeast swell with a 16-second period. The combined energy jumps to 4012, which is a massive increase from what we’ve seen. The NNE wind is fresh, so it’ll be blown a bit, but it’s offshore. This is where it starts to get interesting for the crew that likes it raw. The afternoon holds at 8ft, still with that long-period energy.

The standout, without a doubt, is Sunday the 20th. Sunday afternoon is the one to circle. We’re talking 11ft of south swell, a 16-second period, and the energy reading is a massive 7225. That is a serious amount of water moving. The wind drops to a gentle offshore from the north, which is going to make Shichirigahama (Japan) look pretty special. This is big, powerful, groundswell. This is for experts only. If you’re not confident in big surf, this is the day to be on the beach watching. This is the true standout of the whole period. It’s a lot of water, so be smart.

The energy eases back on Monday the 21st, with 6ft of south-southeast swell and an 11-second period in the morning, still with clean offshore wind. It’s a good follow-up day, but it’s not the same level as Sunday. After that, it fades quickly. Tuesday the 22nd is back to small and sloppy with a strong cross-onshore breeze, and the rest of the week just dribbles away back to nothing.

So, there you have it, a week of nothing, then a big pulse of life. Get your big-wave board ready for the 20th. That’s the one. Everything else, you can take or leave.

Rusty

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