Sponge bay Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at Sponge Bay. It’s a beach and reef break, fairly exposed, and the best swell direction is from the SSE. The water temp is 14°, a bit colder than usual for this time of year, so you might want a hood.

The first real surf shows up on Friday the 17th. It’s a clear afternoon with a 1.4m ESE swell, a long 16-second period, and a ton of energy (1122). The wind is a gentle cross-off from the ENE, so it’s clean. Very good waves, but that long period means there’ll be lulls.

Saturday the 18th morning is another clean one. A 1.3m ESE swell, 14-second period (1015), and a light WNW cross-off. Good fun. The afternoon turns onshore from the SSE, so it’ll get messy.

The standout is Sunday the 19th morning. The swell bumps to 1.5m from the SSE, with an 18-second period (1734) – that’s a lot of juice. The wind is a light WNW cross-off, so it’s clean. This is excellent for experienced surfers; the waves have shape and power, but it’s a bit big for beginners. The afternoon gets ruined by a 20 km/h southerly, so get out early.

Monday the 20th is a write-off – onshore wind and messy surf. Tuesday the 21st is a gem. Morning sees a 1.7m SSE swell (1535) and glassy conditions – zero wind. That’s excellent for the experienced crew. The afternoon drops to 1.5m and stays glassy, so it’s very good again.

From Wednesday the 22nd, the swell fades. Wednesday morning is clean with a 1.0m SSE swell (335), but it’s ordinary. The rest of the week through the 25th is tiny – 0.4m to 0.6m waves and poor conditions. That’s a few days of flat water.

There’s a little pulse around the 28th of July. Tuesday morning has a 1.7m SE swell, but the period is short at 8 seconds (664), and it’s a cross-off from the NW. It’s clean, but short-period waves get bumpy. The 29th and 30th bring light offshore winds and a 1.2m to 1.3m SE swell. Still short period (8 seconds), so it’s surfable and clean, but nothing special.

The first of August has a 1.0m easterly, but it’s a cross-on by the afternoon. Not great.

So, the best sessions are the 17th, 18th, 19th morning, and the 21st. The 19th morning is the pick – that long-period SSE swell, light cross-off, and clean conditions. It’s a proper one. The long-range stuff at the end of July is just small, short-period waves that are clean but not worth chasing.

Rusty.

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