Shooting Gallery Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Let’s be straight with you: the next couple of weeks at Shooting Gallery are looking pretty grim for a paddle. The finder’s got a big fat zero across the board, and the guidance doesn’t sugar-coat it—this is a consistent run of poor surf. You’re looking at a blank run of at least a week and a half before things even start to look interesting, and even then, the quality never really shows up.

The water’s sitting at 74°, which is about 2° warmer than usual for this time of year—a touch of extra warmth in the water, but that’s where the good news ends.

From Friday the 14th through to Tuesday the 25th, it’s all onshore junk. Swell heights hover around 3 ft to 5 ft, but the period is short—mostly 6 to 9 seconds—so it’s weak, lumpy, and messy. The wind is almost always cross-onshore or cross, blowing at 9 to 19 mph. There’s no clean window in there. The combined wave energy is weak to moderate, with readings like 196, 217, and 162 – nothing that’s going to get your heart racing. You’d be fighting chop for nothing.

The only slight reprieve comes on the 24th and 25th where the wind goes more “on” in the mornings, but the swell is still small and short-period. Not worth the drive.

Now, into the second week—things get a bit more interesting, but it’s still not great. On the 25th afternoon and into the 26th, the swell bumps up to 5 ft to 6 ft from the north, with energy climbing into the 300s (332 and 357). That’s moderate energy, but the period is still short at 8 seconds, and the wind is cross-onshore again. This is a beach and reef setup, and with that onshore wind, it’s going to be a mess. If anything, this looks more like a kite session than a surf session.

The real standout, if you can call it that, is on the 29th. The swell jumps to 6 ft from the north, with energy readings of 542 in the morning and 501 in the afternoon. That’s strong energy for this spot, and the period is a bit better at 9 seconds. But—and it’s a big but—the wind is fresh onshore, 16 to 19 mph, cross-onshore, and it’s going to be lumpy as hell. You’d need to be an expert to even think about it, and even then, it’s more of a wrestling match than a wave ride.

Look, the honest truth is this: there are no good surf options in this 16-day window. The spot is consistent in that it *does* break, but it’s consistently poor. For this area, a blank run like this isn’t unusual. The swell direction is all north, which is not the optimum for this break (it wants some NNW), and the wind never gives you a clean offshore. It’s just one of those stretches where you’d be better off finding something else to do.

I’ll be here keeping an eye on it. Forecasts change, and this run won’t last forever—but for now, don’t get your hopes up.

Rusty.

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