Shida Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let’s get into what’s happening at Shida. It’s a bit of a slow start, but there’s some promise down the line.

The week kicks off Thursday, July 16th, with small, weak surf. We’re looking at 3ft of swell from the ESE with a short period of just 8 seconds, combined energy is weak at (107). A southerly offshore is blowing at 9 mph, so it’ll be clean, but honestly, these are just ordinary waves. Nothing to get excited about.

Friday, July 17th, is a write-off. The swell doesn’t shift much, still around 3ft, but the wind goes cross-offshore and the surf quality drops to poor. Saturday, July 18th, starts slow but has a turnaround. The morning is still ordinary with 4ft swell, but by the afternoon, the wind turns offshore from the SSE at 12 mph, the swell picks up just a touch to 3ft, and the energy bumps to (273). The comment says “expect good surf conditions,” and that’s the first real sign of life.

From Sunday, July 19th, through Tuesday, July 21st, things build nicely. Sunday morning has 4ft swell from the ESE, 9-second period, with a light cross-off wind and clean waves. By Monday, July 20th, we see 4–4ft from the E, with clean conditions and offshore winds, moderate wave energy in the (258–366) range. Then Tuesday, July 21st, is a standout. The swell hits 5ft from the East with a longer 12-second period, giving us moderate energy (620) and clean, gentle offshore winds from the SSW. This is the best day of the first week – solid, clean, and rideable.

Wednesday, July 22nd, takes a hit. A risk of thunderstorms and onshore winds from the NE at 16 mph chop things up. Poor conditions, so skip that.

The surf cleans up again from Thursday, July 23rd, into the weekend. Thursday afternoon brings cross-offshore winds and 4ft swell, and by Friday, July 24th, we’re back to offshore winds and clean 3–4ft swell from the E. Saturday, July 25th, keeps that trend going with 3ft swell and offshore winds. Solid little run of clean, small waves.

Now, looking into the second week, starting Sunday, July 26th, the swell drops to 2–2ft and the wind turns cross-off, so it’s poor again. Monday, July 27th, sees the swell come back up to 4–5ft from the SSE with a longer 12-second period, but the energy is moderate to strong (471–585). The catch is the wind is a strong cross-off at 19 mph, and the forecast calls it “marginal” – could be tricky.

Tuesday, July 28th, brings a bigger swell – 5–6ft from the South with a 13–14 second period. That’s strong energy (1004–1340), but the wind is still cross-off and strong. It’s going to be big, powerful, and possibly unruly. That’s more for experienced surfers.

The best bet in the second week is Wednesday, July 29th. Swell drops to 4–4ft from the South with a solid 13-second period, and the wind turns offshore from the SSW at 16 mph. The energy is strong (827) and it’s clean. The morning looks excellent, with very good surf conditions. That’s your second standout.

Thursday, July 30th, stays clean with 4ft from the ENE, short 8-second period, but strong offshore winds and moderate energy (585–597). Good, fun waves.

Overall, the standout day is Tuesday, July 21st – clean, 5ft East swell with a nice 12-second period, gentle offshore wind. The other top pick is Wednesday, July 29th – clean, offshore winds, 4ft South swell with a long 13-second groundswell. That’s one for the reef and point crew.

Now, about the water temp – it’s about average for this time of year, nothing wild there.

Crowds at Shida are listed as “often,” so on those good days, expect plenty of company out there.

Rusty.

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