Stent Road Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, let’s get into it. I’m only looking at one spot here, Stent Road, and it’s a reef and point setup that needs a solid SW groundswell. The forecast is a bit of a rollercoaster, so let’s break it down.

The first few days are a write-off. Friday the 24th and Saturday the 25th are big misses – strong cross-onshore winds and building swell that’s either messy or just too damn big. By Saturday afternoon, we’re looking at a 18 ft swell from the W with a 28 mph cross-onshore. That’s not surfing, that’s survival. The wave energy is off the charts, but the wind is ruining it. It’s a full-on kite-surfing setup, not one for a paddle.

Sunday morning the 26th is where it starts to get interesting. The wind drops to glassy – 3 mph from the ESE – and we’ve got a 12 ft WSW swell at a 14-second period. That’s a big, powerful groundswell, and the energy is still very strong. This is excellent surf for experienced surfers only. The water temp is about 58°, which is pretty normal for this time of year, so a good 3/2 wetsuit is the call. This is one of the true standouts of the whole window, but it’s big and it’s a reef, so you need to know what you’re doing.

Monday morning the 27th is a repeat, glassy winds from the ESE again, with a 8 ft WSW swell and a 13-second period. Another excellent session for the advanced crew, just a little smaller than Sunday.

Tuesday the 28th through Thursday the 1st of August is a mixed bag of cleaner but smaller conditions. There’s a nice morning window on Tuesday the 28th with a clean 5 ft swell and a 12-second period, and the water is still glassy early. The crowds are listed as “often” at this spot, so expect a few locals out when it’s good. The second standout is the morning of Saturday the 1st of August – glassy as can be with a 6 ft WSW swell at 13 seconds. That’s a clean, fun size for a point break.

Then we get another quiet spell. The wind is a bit messy or light onshore, and the swell drops. That changes on Monday the 3rd of August. We get a really long-period groundswell – 20 seconds – from the WSW, but the wind is onshore. It’s a 6 ft swell, but the period is so long it’ll be a bit fat and straight at the beach, so it’s better at a point like this. The energy is high, but the wind is a letdown.

The second big energy push comes from the 4th of August. The swell builds again, but the wind shifts to a clean offshore cross-off from the SE. Tuesday morning the 4th has a 12 ft, 18-second swell with clean conditions. That’s a massive, powerful groundswell for experts only. The afternoon is a cleaner 10 ft with a 17-second period. This is definitely a standout for the second week, but it’s a long-range call, so keep an eye on it.

The next few days, the 5th and 6th of August, are still big but the wind stays clean. The swell shifts more S and the period drops to 10 seconds, which is a less powerful wind swell. It’s still big at 13 ft to 16 ft, but the shorter period means it’s more of a beast. This is only for the absolute best on a big day.

The last few days taper off. Friday the 7th of August has a clean 4 ft, 16-second groundswell in the afternoon, which is a nice, clean finisher for the experts. The window then closes with onshore winds and smaller surf on the 8th.

So, the two best windows are Sunday morning, July 26th and the Tuesday to Thursday run from August 4th to 6th. The first is a sure thing for the experienced, the second is a promising long-range forecast for the big-wave chargers. For the average surfer, the glassy mornings of July 28th and August 1st are your best bet for a manageable, clean wave.

Rusty.

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