Shida Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Right, listen up. Rusty here. Let's talk about the local surf outlook for Shida over the next couple of weeks.

It's a pretty quiet start to the forecast period, I'm not gonna lie. For the first week and a half, from Friday the 24th of July right through to Monday the 3rd of August, the surf is tiny and ordinary. You're looking at ankle-to-knee-high waves mostly, with the odd knee-high set. The combined energy of all swells is weak, often under 200 (e.g., 131, 143, 90). The wind is messy, mostly cross-on or cross-shore, and the conditions are just... flat. There are a few windows of glassy or clean conditions, like Saturday morning, the 25th, but the swell is too small to get excited about. It's a dry spell that feels like it's going to last forever.

Then, things change. The standout window is Monday the 3rd of August into Tuesday the 4th. Monday morning kicks off with wind from the ESE at 6 mph, giving us light cross-offshore breezes and clean surf. The swell jumps to 3 ft from the ESE with a period of 10 seconds, and the combined energy hits 314 (moderate). Then Monday afternoon is the real magic: the swell picks up to 3 ft from the SE, but the period stretches to a very long 16 seconds. That's pure groundswell, and the energy jumps to a strong 810. The wind stays light and cross-offshore, so the surf at Shida will be clean, with some real push and shape. Tuesday morning, the 4th, sees the swell size jump to 8 ft from the SE, same 16-second period, and the energy rockets to 2,854. The wind is light and cross-shore, but with that size, it's starting to get pushy. The crowd profile at Shida is "often", so expect a few heads out there. It's a reef, so those long-period groundswells will line up nicely.

After Tuesday, the swell gets too big. Wednesday the 5th through to Saturday the 8th of August, the swell is well over 8 ft, maxing out at a massive 25 ft, with wind howling from the NE and E at 18 to 28 mph. The energy values are astronomical (e.g., 47,082, 16153, 57099). This is pure, raw, dangerous power. For a setup like Shida, this is expert-only territory, and with the strong cross-offshore winds, it'll be a foamy, unruly beast. It's no longer a surf spot for normal paddle surfing; it's more of a spectacle.

So, to sum it up: the wait is long, but the payoff is real. The best surf on offer is the afternoon of Monday the 3rd of August, with clean, chest-high, long-period SE groundswell. Tuesday morning the 4th will also be excellent, though bigger and more powerful. Get in before the ocean goes nuts.

Rusty.

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