Shooting Gallery Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s have a good hard look at what’s comin’ down the pipe. This forecast is a bit of a head-scratcher, to tell you the truth. We’ve got a consistent pulse of swell, but it’s gonna take some seriously good timing to get a clean one.

Right now, the water temp is sittin’ around 73°, which is pretty much what you’d expect for this time of year. No nasty surprises there.

The main event this whole stretch is a solid run of northerly swell, but the wind is the absolute killer for most of it. We’re looking at a long, drawn-out period of fresh, cross-onshore breezes that are gonna keep things lumpy and choppy at Shooting Gallery. We’re starting off Saturday the 25th with a 6ft north swell at 8 seconds, but that 22 mph cross-onshore wind is gonna tear it up. The combined energy is moderate at (455), but it’s all messy.

This same story drags on through the next week. The swell hangs in there, dropping from head-high 5ft on Sunday afternoon down to waist-high 3ft by Wednesday, but the wind just keeps kicking up that cross-onshore chop. It feels like a bit of a waste of energy, to be honest.

Monday the 28th through Tuesday the 29th of July drops into the smaller stuff, around 4ft to 4ft, and the period shortens way down to 6 or 7 seconds. The energy drops off a cliff, too (down to 101), making for weak, onshore slop.

Now, there’s a little glimmer around Friday the 31st of July. The wind goes light onshore in the morning, and then we get a period of clean, offshore breeze from the NW on Saturday the 1st of August. The swell is only 4ft and short period, but for the first time, the wave comment says "clean". That’s a window for a grovelly dawn patrol if you’re desperate.

The real standout, and I mean the *only* one that gets me a little fired up, comes from the blue. On Wednesday morning, the 5th of August, the swell direction swings around to a clean 2ft WNW groundswell with a 10-second period. That’s the one that matches the optimum direction for the reef. The wind is light and onshore from the NNE, so the surface might be a little bumpy, but that’s the best quality of wave we’ll see in this whole window. The energy is moderate at (189), and while it’s small, it’s got the right angle for Shooting Gallery. Don't expect much consistency though, as the rest of that week goes back to wind-affected northerly junk and choppy conditions.

Bottom line: There’s no perfect day here. The first week is a write-off with wind. The only real hope is that tiny, clean groundswell on the 5th of August for a sneaky early session. Otherwise, this is a sit-and-wait forecast.

Rusty.

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