Shooting Gallery Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let's have a look at what’s on the cards for the next couple of weeks. Honestly, it’s a grim start. The whole outlook is a bit of a washout for the first bit, and it takes a while before we even get a sniff of something worth paddling out for.

The only spot on the radar is Shooting Gallery, a consistent reef break that's fairly exposed to the swell. Water temp is sitting at 73°, which is about average for this time of year, so no surprises there.

Right off the bat, from Saturday the 25th of July, we’ve got a solid run of poor conditions. The swell sticks around for a while, but the wind is all wrong. We're looking at a stiff NNE to N breeze blowing cross-onshore, creating lumpy, choppy, messy surf. The combined swell energy hits a moderate 457 on Saturday but paired with that fresh wind, it's not doing anyone any favours. This messy pattern hangs on all through the end of July and into the first week of August. The swell drops right off, briefly, into weaker levels, with combined energy figures dipping below 100, before slowly building back. But the cross-onshore wind just won't let up. It’s a frustrating stretch.

Around Sunday the 2nd of August, there’s a brief flicker of hope in the morning. The wind swings around to a W, giving us a clean, cross-offshore breeze. The swell is small, just 3 ft, and the period is short, so it’s not going to be a classic, but it would at least be rideable. That clean window is short-lived, as the wind goes back to a messy cross-onshore by the afternoon.

Looking further ahead into the second week, there’s a slight uptick in size around the 4th and 5th of August. The swell builds to 5 ft – 6 ft and the combined energy hits the 300s and 400s, but the wind remains a stubborn cross-onshore. It’s the same story: surf size that would be fun if the wind would cooperate, but it simply doesn't. By the 6th, we get peak energy around 516, with a 6 ft N swell, but still that cross-onshore breeze.

The honest truth is, there's no standout session in this forecast. The one chance you have for something clean is that Sunday morning, August 2nd. For everything else, it's chopped up and lumpy. It’s one of those runs where the conditions just don’t come together.

Stay patient, gang.

Rusty.

Read more