Spring Lake Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here, and I’ve gotta be straight with you – the next 16 days at Spring Lake are a long, flat road with very few bumps. We’re looking at a real dry spell, so if you’re itching to paddle, you’ll need to lower your expectations.

The pattern is grim from the start. For the first ten days, through until about the 19th of July, it’s almost all poor surf with tiny, weak energy. The combined swell energy mostly sits in the teens and thirties, with a couple of days scraping into the low hundreds, but even then the waves are small and messy. We’re talking ankle-to-knee-high slop, and the wind is often cross or onshore, making it lumpy and choppy. There’s a brief moment on the afternoon of Friday the 19th where a 4ft S swell creeps in, but it’s a short-period 4-second windswell with only 73 combined energy, and the wind is cross-offshore. It’s “surfable but very ordinary conditions” – honestly, not worth the drive.

Then on Monday the 20th of July, we get a hint of something bigger. The morning shows a 6ft S swell at 6 seconds, with combined energy of 238 (moderate). The wind is a gentle cross-shore from the NNE, but it’s listed as “marginal surf forecast or questionable tide conditions.” This is the biggest swell of the window, but it’s fast, short-period windswell, and the wind isn’t helping. For a beginner, 6ft is pushing it; for an expert, it’s doable but not exciting. The waves will be lumpy and hard to find a clean line on. The afternoon drops off to nothing.

After that, it’s dead again. From the 21st right through to the 24th, the swell energy is a pathetic 1 to 33, with tiny waves and onshore or cross-onshore wind. A real blank run.

The only standout, and I use that word loosely, is the morning of Monday the 20th of July. If you’re a seasoned local who just needs to get wet, that’s your window. Spring Lake is a sandbar break, exposed to the ENE, but the swell is coming from the S, so it’s not even hitting the optimum direction. The water temp is about average for the time of year, nothing unusual. The crowds? This spot can get “sometimes” busy, but with these conditions, you’ll likely have it to yourself. It’s too small and weak for a kite session, but it’s not good for a paddle either.

So, bottom line: there’s no real surf on offer. The 20th is the only thing close to a session, and even then it’s a gamble. Hold tight, check back in a few days – forecasts can change, and it tends not to stay this poor for long.

Rusty.

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