Shooting Gallery Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, I’m Rusty. Let’s talk about Shooting Gallery over the next couple of weeks. Right from the start, this is a tough outlook. The swell shows up, no doubt, but the wind gods aren’t playing nice, and the surf quality is shot for every single session in the forecast. That means no standouts, no hidden gems, just a long, frustrating stretch. The first recommendation doesn’t come until July 11th, and from there it’s a string of days where the conditions just won’t line up. You’re looking at a solid run of poor surf all the way through to July 26th, with no let-up.

Let’s break down what’s on offer. On Saturday, July 11th, we’ve got tiny, weak swell – 2 ft from the north with a short period of 5 seconds. The combined energy is weak at 34. The morning shows a light north wind, but it’s cross-onshore, creating wind ripples. That’s a no-go. The afternoon picks up a bit, but with a moderate cross-shore and cross-chop, it’s still poor. Water temp is 72°, which is just about normal for this time of year with a 0.8° anomaly.

Sunday, July 12th, the swell bumps up a little – 4 ft from the northwest, period 8 seconds, energy rising to a moderate 160. The morning has a north-northeast wind directly onshore, so that’s a mess. The afternoon turns cross-onshore and choppy. Just not worth paddling out.

The pattern stays grim. Monday and Tuesday, July 13th and 14th, the swell stays around 3 ft to 3 ft, period 8-9 seconds, energy moderate but still under 200. Winds are onshore or cross-onshore, keeping everything chopped up.

Then from Wednesday, July 15th, the wind starts to fresh right up. We’re looking at 15-19 mph from the north-northeast or north, cross-onshore, and the swell builds. By Thursday, July 16th, the swell hits 5 ft from the north-northeast, period 7 seconds, energy jumping to 250-304. The wind is fresh and lumpy. That’s not surfable for a clean wave.

It gets bigger but uglier. From July 17th through to July 22nd, the swell sits around 5 ft to 7 ft from the north, periods 8-9 seconds, and the wind stays fresh cross-onshore at 15-19 mph. The energy climbs into the strong range – 311 up to 723. But all of that power is wasted because the wind is ruining the surface. The wave state is described as “moderate cross-onshore and choppy” or “fresh cross-onshore and lumpy” all the way.

For the second week, July 23rd to 26th, same story. The swell is still there – 3 ft to 7 ft from the north with periods 8-9 seconds, energy strong up to 775 – but the cross-onshore wind from the north and north-northeast at 12-19 mph just won’t let up. Friday, July 24th, sees the biggest combination with 7 ft and 775 energy, but it’s all crossed-up and lumpy.

Honestly, nothing here is worth chasing. Shooting Gallery is a reef break that’s fairly exposed to swell and consistent, but with the wind stuck in the onshore/cross-onshore quadrant for the whole 16 days, the setup would actually be more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing. For the beginner, the swell stays under 5 ft for the first few days, so it’s not too big, but the poor quality is the real killer. For the experienced crew, when it gets over 8 ft around July 24th-26th, it’s only for experts, but even then, the wind is terrible.

No standouts. No best session. It’s a blank run, and for this area, that’s a normal pattern when the trade winds lock in. Forecasts can change, but right now, I’d keep the board on the rack.

Rusty

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