Shichirigahama Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Righto, grab a coffee and settle in, 'cause I’ve looked over the charts for Shichirigahama and I gotta be straight with you – it’s been a tough run and it’s gonna stay that way for a while. This river mouth setup is usually a pretty fair-weather friend, but for the next week and a half, it’s barely whispering.

We're looking at an almost two-week stretch of nothing worth paddling out for. From Wednesday the 22nd right through to the start of August, it’s all poor surf conditions. The swell is tiny, mostly under 2 feet, with a mix of short-period, weak windswell and the odd longer period signal that just doesn't have the size. The combined wave energy is very weak, sitting below 100 for most of that first week, so it’s not even trying.

You’ll see a few glassy mornings – like Monday the 27th, Tuesday the 28th, and Wednesday the 29th – with a light offshore or glassy wind, but the swell is just too small and poor to make anything of it. It’s a real tease. Even the offshore breezes on the 25th and 26th are blowing into a flat sea.

Then, finally, on Sunday morning the 2nd of August, things start to tick over a little. We get a 2-foot S swell, and the combined energy jumps to 186 – still moderate, but it’s the first sign of life. That morning has glassy conditions, so it’ll be clean but small. It’s described as “surfable waves but very ordinary conditions,” so don’t expect much.

The real standout, if you can call it that, is the following Monday the 3rd of August. A solid 6 to 6-foot S swell rolls in, with a long period of 15-16 seconds. That’s proper groundswell energy, with the combined energy reading 1474-1624 – that’s strong. The problem is the wind is onshore or cross-onshore, which will chop it up, and it’s described as “marginal surf forecast.” For a river mouth, that long-period swell might be a bit too straight, but it could offer some clean lines if the tide plays ball.

The pick of the entire 16-day window is likely Tuesday the 4th of August. The swell drops a touch to 5 feet from the S/SSW, still with a nice 14-second period. The combined energy is still strong (1071-1393). The wind is a moderate to fresh offshore from the NNE/NE, which will groom the faces. That’s your best shot at something clean and rideable. It’s intermediate-friendly, but at this size, beginners might find it a handful.

After that, Friday the 5th and Thursday the 6th of August see the wind really howling offshore – 22 to 44 mph – which makes paddling out a mission. The swell drops back under 4 feet, so it’s a no-go.

So, to wrap it up: the first week is a write-off. The one true standout is that Tuesday the 4th of August. Set your alarm for that one. For everything else, it’s a waiting game.

Rusty.

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