Southerndown Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Right, folks, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s on offer for Southerndown over the next couple of weeks.

Honestly, I’m looking at a pretty bleak picture. The whole 16-day window is a write-off for any decent paddle surfing. The swell is tiny, the wind is consistently wrong, and there’s just no energy to get excited about.

The water is running at 68°F, which is a solid 8°F warmer than usual for this time of year – properly weird, like having a warm bath, but unfortunately there’s no waves to enjoy it in.

We start off on Friday 31st July with a tiny 3ft swell from the west, but a fresh 30 km/h cross-onshore wind has it chopped up and messy. The combined energy is only 22, so there’s nothing to work with. Saturday 1st August and Sunday 2nd are even smaller, with a brief moment of glassy conditions on Sunday afternoon – but the swell is only 1.0ft. You’d be better off on a bodyboard, and even then it’s a struggle.

The first week is a total washout. The wind is mostly onshore or cross-onshore, and the swell height never gets above 4ft, but even that on Wednesday 5th August comes with a short period of 7 seconds and a 25 km/h onshore wind. The combined energy hits 147 that afternoon, but it’s just lumpy, messy junk.

There’s a gap here of several days with no recommendations. The best we see is a little window on Tuesday 11th August morning. The swell is only 2ft from the WSW, but the wind is light and cross-offshore from the ESE at 10 km/h, making it clean. The combined energy is a weak 71, and the score reflects it – "surfable waves but very ordinary conditions". That’s the absolute best this stretch has to offer, and it’s barely worth a paddle.

Later on, Sunday 9th August sees a pulse of 5ft swell from the WSW with a period of 9 seconds and a combined energy of 371 – that’s moderate energy. But the wind is a fresh 35 km/h cross-onshore, making it lumpy and blown out. The Monday 10th August is similar, with a 3ft swell but again onshore winds.

The second week is more of the same – tiny swells, strong onshore winds, and nothing to recommend. From Wednesday 12th August right through to Saturday 15th August, we’re looking at 1ft to 2ft swell with winds from the west, northwest, and southwest, all creating cross-onshore or cross-shore chop. The energy is in the low double digits – truly flat.

This is a blank run, and for Southerndown, it’s not unusual. When the wind is wrong and the swell is this small, you just have to wait it out. Forecasts can change, but right now there’s nothing to get in the water for.

Rusty.

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