Stent Road Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, let’s get into it. This is Rusty, looking at what’s on the cards for the next couple of weeks.

The forecast is a slow burn with a few moments of real quality, but you’ll need to pick your window and that means dealing with some strong winds early on and some solid, heavy swell that’s strictly for the experienced crew. The standout session is a magical window on Sunday afternoon (July 5th) where everything lines up.

For the first few days, it’s a bit of a battle. Saturday the 4th is a write-off with a fresh to strong breeze out of the NNE making things choppy and blown out at Stent Road. You’re looking at small 3ft to 6ft WSW and WNW swell, but the wind is just ruining it. There’s weak wave energy around (319) and even the bigger afternoon swell is messy.

Then comes the real highlight. Sunday afternoon, July 5th, is the one to circle. The wind drops to absolutely nothing – glassy as a lake – and a nice 4ft groundswell rolls in from the WSW with a very long 16-second period. The water temperature is about 59° Fahrenheit, which feels pretty normal for this time of year. The crowd factor is “often,” so expect company at this reef and point break. The combined energy is a solid moderate 1148. It’s clean, it’s lined-up, and it’s the best of the whole run for a surfer who knows what they’re doing. This is the one.

Monday the 6th gets heavy but tricky. The swell jumps to a strong 10ft with very long 14- to 16-second periods from the WSW. The combined wave energy is enormous (3667–4870), so there is serious power in the water. But with a fresh cross-off wind, it’s only for the experienced. A true expert-only zone.

Tuesday the 7th still has plenty of size (8ft to 8ft, WSW, 14-15s period) and lighter ESE winds, keeping it clean. The crowd factor means you probably won’t be alone, but these are still solid waves. Energy is very high (3239–2118).

Wednesday the 8th brings a shift. The morning sees an 8ft short-period S swell (only 7 seconds), but by afternoon it’s building to 12ft from the S with a better 9-second period. Winds are light to slight – that afternoon session is glassy clean. This is another top pick for anyone advanced. The short-period morning swell might be a bit bouncy.

Thursday the 9th through to the end of the first week stays chunky but the wind picks up. Thursday afternoon is 10ft from the S, but a moderate SSE breeze keeps it from being perfect. The energy remains high.

Things start to drop off from July 10th onwards. That very long-period WSW groundswell (16-18 seconds) keeps the energy up (3984), but the wind is screaming at 25 mph. The quality takes a hit – this is more a big-wind, big-swell day that’s better for kites than a regular paddle.

The second week, from July 11th to the 13th, the swell settles into a more manageable 4ft to 5ft range with that lovely long-period WSW groundswell. The wind is lighter, mostly light to moderate from the SSE/SE. The surf is clean and there are some good, cruisy waves on offer, but nothing that jumps out as epic. The energy drops back to the 1014-451 range.

From July 14th the swell bottoms out. Tiny 2ft to 2ft waves with weak energy (153-205). Not much doing.

Things try to rebuild from July 15th with 4ft to 5ft, and by July 16th we get a morning of proper offshore wind from the east with 7ft swell at 16 seconds from the WSW. The energy is back up (1956) and the conditions are clean. This is the best of the late period, a solid pick for advanced surfers.

From July 17th to the 19th it fades away again, with strong onshore trends and poor conditions by the final day. Overall, don’t fight the early wind. Wait for that glassy Sunday afternoon, July 5th, or the cleaner, heavy days of the 8th and 16th. Stay salty.

Rusty.

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