St Mikes Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Righto, let's get into it. The next couple of weeks are a mixed bag at St Mikes, a reef set-up with a pretty solid southwest exposure. There's a bit of a wait for the real magic, but when it comes, it's a cracker for those who can handle it.

The first shot of proper size rolls in on Friday the 3rd with a 10ft SSW swell, but it's cross-on, so it's messy. Not the day. You're waiting for Saturday the 4th morning. That's your standout. The swell has dropped a touch to 8ft from the SSE, but it doesn't matter because the wind goes glassy – dead calm. That's the kind of clean you dream about. The water's sitting at 73°, which is a touch warmer than normal for this time of year. The combined energy is buzzing at moderate to strong (1599). This is a heavy wave – 8ft at a reef is expert territory – but for the experienced crew, this is as good as it gets. Saturday afternoon still has clean 7ft waves but the wind swings cross-on, so the morning is the one.

After that, it runs out of steam. A few small, choppy days roll through the first half of the week. The swell drops under 3ft by Monday the 6th, and the wind swings onshore or cross-shore, killing any real chance of a wave worth paddling for. There's a solid gap with no recommendations from Sunday the 5th afternoon right through to Wednesday the 8th.

Keep an eye on Thursday the 9th. The afternoon sees a big 10ft S swell with a very long 15-second period, and the combined energy jumps to very strong (3574). The wind is only a gentle cross-shore, so it's rideable, but the quality is marginal. A long-period groundswell like that will be fat and straight on a beach, but this is a reef, so it might hold its shape. That said, it's still cross-shore, so it's not perfect.

The following week looks messy. The swell stays up around 7ft from the south through the 11th and 12th, but the wind is a persistent moderate to fresh cross-shore from the northeast. There's a lumpy, bumpy layer on top of it all. A highlight? Not really. There's a brief pulse on Monday the 13th morning with a 10ft S swell and very long period (15 seconds), which again will have some serious energy (4004), but with a moderate cross-shore, it's more of a grinder than a gem. This setup looks more interesting for a kite session than a clean paddle session through that whole second week.

The swell eventually fades to nothing by the 15th and 16th. The best of the whole run is definitely that Saturday morning (July 4th) – 8ft SSE, glass-off, St Mikes doing its thing.

Rusty.

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