Stinky Bay Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Right then, let’s have a look at what’s on offer for Stinky Bay over the next couple of weeks.

Honestly, I’m not gonna sugarcoat it – this stretch looks pretty grim. There’s a big, long gap with almost nothing worth paddling out for. The first real sniff of anything surfable doesn’t come until the very end of the month, and even then, it’s marginal.

The whole first week and a half is a write-off. You’re looking at tiny 0.3ft to 1ft dribble with short period windswell, and the energy readings are mostly in the single digits or low twenties (11 to 23). The water temp is sitting at 65°, which is a touch warmer than normal for this time of year, but that’s about the only positive. The wind is clean enough at times, but there’s just no swell to work with. It’s basically a flat spell.

We get a bit of a pulse around July 26th – Sunday morning – with the swell jumping to 6ft from the west, but the period is a short 7 seconds, and that wind is howling from the southwest at 25 mph. The combined energy hits 286, which is moderate, but it’s a messy, cross-onshore, blown-out mess. Not for paddle surfing. That kind of setup with strong wind and a beach-and-reef break looks more interesting for kite surfing.

The energy drops back down, but the conditions stay average. The best chance of anything decent comes on Thursday, July 30th. The morning shows 4ft from the west-northwest, with a period of 7 seconds and a combined energy of 149. It’s a little lumpy with a light cross-onshore, but it’s the most swell we’ve seen. The afternoon is a slight step up to 5ft from the west-northwest, period of 8 seconds, and energy of 226. The wind goes light and cross-shore, making it only marginal. If you’re desperate, that’s the window.

Friday the 31st has some energy at 144, but 3ft and 3ft with a strong cross-offshore breeze from the north-northeast (19-25 mph) will keep the surface clean, but it’ll be a battle to get into. Then into the first of August, Saturday morning has 4ft from the west-northwest with a fresh offshore from the northeast at 28 mph. That’s strong offshore – clean faces but hard work to paddle into. The afternoon settles a bit with 3ft and a moderate offshore breeze, and it’s surfable but very ordinary.

So, the standout? There isn’t a true one. The only day that even gets a score of 1 out of 10 is Thursday, July 30th afternoon, and that’s just for being marginal. The rest are all zeros. It’s a lean run, no doubt about it. Forecasts can change, so don’t write the whole month off, but right now, it’s a long wait for very little reward.

Rusty.

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