Smugglers Cove Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here again. Let's talk about what's on the menu for the next couple of weeks.

Right off the bat, I gotta be straight with you: this is a tough stretch. We're looking at a long, dry spell of nothing special. The first real chance for a surf comes on Tuesday the 28th of July, but even then, it's a bit of a struggle.

Smugglers Cove is the only game in town, and it's a beginner-friendly spot that's fairly consistent but exposed to the west. The water temperature is running a bit colder than normal for this time of year, sitting at 56°F.

Tuesday the 28th kicks off with a weak, long-period south-west groundswell. The combined energy is moderate (513) but the wind is a cross-on breeze, making for fairly choppy conditions. The afternoon cleans up slightly with a lighter cross-onshore, but the swell is still tiny at 3 ft. It's a marginal session.

Wednesday the 29th is more of the same. The swell bumps up just a touch, but winds go cross-shore and pick up, making it a bit messy. The morning is your best bet, but it's still a marginal call.

Thursday the 30th through Friday the 31st sees the swell drop right back. We're talking 2 ft to 2 ft with light cross-onshore winds. The period is still long, but there's just not enough size to get excited about. The combined energy drops to weak (254-301).

Saturday the 1st of August into Sunday the 2nd is a write-off. The swell bumps up to 3 ft to 4 ft, but the period drops to a short, weak 8 seconds. The wind is either onshore or cross-shore, and the energy is weak. The surf is poor.

Monday the 3rd of August is a bit of a tease. The wind goes cross-offshore and clean, but the swell is still short-period and weak at 4 ft to 5 ft. The combined energy is weak (185-251). It’s a clean surface, but with no power behind it, you’re just bobbing around.

From Tuesday the 4th through to Sunday the 9th of August, it's a pretty bleak picture. The swell stays small, with periods mostly under 9 seconds, and the wind is consistently cross-shore and often windy. The combined energy is weak to moderate at best. The only real highlight is that on Wednesday the 5th of August the afternoon winds go cross-offshore, but the swell is 6 ft – that's getting a bit punchy for a beach break, especially with a short period, and it's only for the experts. The combined energy (396) is still only moderate.

Monday the 10th of August brings a bit of a longer-period groundswell (10 seconds) but the wind is a moderate cross-shore breeze. The 3 ft to 4 ft swell is just not enough to overcome the chop.

The final stretch from Tuesday the 11th of August to Wednesday the 12th of August shows a return to the long-period groundswell, but it's tiny (2 ft to 2 ft) and cross-shore winds kill any hope of it being clean. The combined energy is moderate (367-420), but the size is just not there.

Overall: This is a bare stretch. The best of a weak bunch is probably Monday the 3rd of August with the clean cross-offshore wind, even though the swell is small and weak. For a long-range gamble, the Thursday afternoon the 6th of August has a moderate energy (340) and cross-shore wind, but it's a week and a half out and the forecast is poor. Honestly, for the next two weeks, you'd be better off finding a lake or a river mouth than trying to paddle out at Smugglers. The setup looks more interesting for a kite session than a surf session for most of this period.

Rusty.

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