Shichirigahama Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s be straight with you – the next week or so is looking pretty bleak for a paddle. We’ve got a real flat spell on our hands, but there’s a glimmer of proper swell way out in the second week that could be a game-changer for the experienced crew.

The story starts Saturday, July 25th, and for a solid week after that, it’s basically a write-off. The swell is tiny, barely scraping 1 ft, and the energy is weak, with the combined energy sitting at a dismal 26. The wind is mostly cross or onshore, keeping things messy. You’ll be waiting until Monday, August 3rd, before anything even registers as surfable, but even then it’s ordinary. That’s a dead period of about nine days, depending on your patience.

The real action, if you can call it that, kicks off on Tuesday, August 4th. The morning shows a building SE swell at 4 ft with a very long period of 18 seconds. The combined energy jumps to 1051, which is moderate, and the wind is a clean offshore from the NE. This is where things get interesting. By the afternoon, the swell pushes to 5 ft, still from the SE with that 18-second period, and the energy climbs to 1550. The wind stays offshore from the NE, only gentler, making for some excellent conditions. This is one of the standouts, but it’s a long-period groundswell, so at Shichirigahama (a river break), it should handle that energy better than a beach break. It’s an intermediate spot, so keep that in mind.

Wednesday, August 5th, sees the swell get bigger and more powerful, but it’s getting borderline. The morning brings 8 ft of SE swell, with a massive 4859 combined energy. The wind is still offshore from the NE, but it’s a moderate breeze. This is clean, but it’s getting into expert-only territory. The afternoon pushes it to 10 ft, still clean, but it’s a big one. The swell is too big for beginners here.

Then things go a bit wild. Thursday, August 6th, the predicted swell is massive, with a morning reading of 23 ft and an afternoon of 18 ft, both from the SE. The combined energy readings are enormous (29942 and 16676). The wind is offshore, but the swell is simply too big for this break, even for the good conditions. This is the kind of day that would be more interesting for kite surfing than a standard paddle session.

The latter part of the week, from Friday, August 7th into the weekend, the swell drops fast but the wind gets nasty. The combined energy plummets, and by Friday afternoon, the wind is cranking at 25 mph from the NNE, making it a tough paddle. The heavy rain and gale-force winds on Saturday, August 8th, mean you’ll be staying home.

For the best of the bunch, I’d say Tuesday, August 4th afternoon is the pick. Clean, offshore wind, a solid 5 ft SE swell with that long 18-second period, and moderate energy. It’s the best balance of size and quality. The crowds are listed as “sometimes,” so expect some company out there. Overall, it’s a long wait, but if you’ve got the patience and the skill for a bigger swell, that second week has a couple of days that are worth marking on the calendar.

Stay safe, and I’ll catch you on the next one.

Rusty

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