Dunedin - St Clair Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Right, mate, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s on offer.

Overall, Dunedin’s St Clair has a bit of a slow start, but there’s a solid run of groundswell building through the middle of next week, and a couple of real standouts later on that are worth circling on the calendar. The water’s sitting at 51°, which is a touch warmer than normal for this time of year – nothing wild, but a small mercy.

The first decent surf shows up on Friday the 24th morning. It’s small, only 1ft from the SSW with a very long 15-second period, and the combined energy is weak (84). The wind is light offshore from the NW, so it’ll be clean, but honestly, it’s just a knee-high dribbler. Not worth getting excited about.

Saturday the 25th is a write-off. Strong cross-onshore winds and rain, with messy 3ft SSW swell. Stay home.

Sunday the 26th cleans up a bit with a clear sky and a cross-offshore wind, but the swell is still small and mixed. The SE swell on the morning has a 15-second period, but the energy is moderate (540). It’s surfable but nothing to write home about.

Now, Monday the 27th is where it starts to turn. The morning has a clean 3ft SSW swell with the wind offshore from the NNW. The energy is moderate (391). By afternoon, the wind goes light offshore from the NNW, the swell picks up to 3ft from the ESE with a 13-second period, and the energy jumps to 549. The conditions are very good and clean. This is a nice little session.

Tuesday the 28th is the first real standout. The morning has 5ft of ESE swell with a 13-second period, light offshore wind from the NW, and strong energy (814). The afternoon is even better – glassy conditions with a 5ft ESE swell, the same period, and the wind is from the NNE at just 3 mph. It’s clean, it’s punchy, and the energy is still strong (802). This is the pick of the first week for anyone who can get out.

Wednesday the 29th keeps the run going. Morning has 5ft of ESE swell, light offshore NW wind, and strong energy (868). The afternoon goes glassy again with 4ft of ESE swell and a 13-second period. Very good, clean waves.

Thursday the 30th and Friday the 31st drop off. The swell shrinks and the wind picks up to 16 mph from the west, cross-offshore but strong. The energy drops, and the conditions are poor. A bit of a gap.

Saturday the 1st of August morning offers a small reprieve – 2ft of SE swell, light offshore wind from the NW, and clean conditions. The energy is moderate (230). It’s a small but tidy option.

Sunday the 2nd of August morning is similar with 2ft of SE swell, light offshore wind, and clean. The afternoon goes glassy, but the swell is only 1ft and the energy is weak (88). Not much power.

Then we hit the big one. Monday the 3rd of August morning is a standout for experienced surfers. There’s a solid 5ft of S swell with a very long 15-second period, light offshore wind from the NW, and the combined energy is a strong 1065. The waves will have real power and shape, but with that size and period, it’s not for beginners. The afternoon glass off with 4ft of S swell is still very good.

Tuesday the 4th and Wednesday the 5th drop back to smaller, cleaner SSW swell, with moderate energy and light winds. Good for the logs.

Thursday the 6th of August is another standout. The morning has 3ft of SSW swell, a 14-second period, light offshore wind, and strong energy (505). The afternoon jumps to 5ft of SSW swell, still a 14-second period, light offshore wind, and the energy rockets to 1112. This is excellent, clean groundswell for experienced surfers.

Friday the 7th of August is a monster. Morning shows 16ft of SW swell with a 17-second period – that’s massive, very long-period groundswell, and the energy is off the charts at 18058. The wind is light offshore. This is strictly for experts only, and honestly, the size is way too big for St Clair. The afternoon is 8ft of S swell, glassy, but still too big for the average surfer.

Saturday the 8th of August is a mess – strong onshore wind and lumpy, poor conditions.

So, the two true standouts are Tuesday the 28th for the clean, punchy 5ft ESE swell with glassy conditions, and Monday the 3rd of August for the powerful 5ft S groundswell with offshore wind. The Thursday the 6th afternoon is also a ripper for experienced surfers. The big Friday the 7th is a spectacle, but not a practical surf.

Rusty.

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