Strandhill Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, I’ve taken a good look at the charts for this stretch. Let’s break it down.

Truth is, my friends, this next two weeks at Strandhill is going to be a tough watch for a surfer. We’re kicking off with nothing really worth paddling for. That first real chance doesn’t come until the morning of Wednesday, July 8th. Even then, it’s not much to write home about. We’ve got a small 3ft swell rolling in from the west, with a period of 9 seconds – that’s a short-period wind swell, not a powerful groundswell. Combined energy is only moderate at 168, so it’s weak. The water temp is sitting at 61°, which is a touch warmer than normal for this time of year, so at least you won’t need the thickest wetsuit.

That Wednesday morning session gets a little help from glassy conditions. The wind is almost nothing out of the SSW. For a beach-and-sandbar setup like Strandhill, that offshore breeze is gold, but with swell this small and weak, you’ll be scratching for the few rideable ones. It’s surfable, but very ordinary.

Thursday brings a tiny bit of hope. The morning has a light SSW cross-offshore breeze cleaning it up, with 3ft, 9-second west swell. Still small, but rideable for a longboard or a fish if you’re patient. The real gem though is Thursday afternoon – glassy again with a WSW breeze. That’s the best window in this whole first week. For a beachbreak, glass is everything. If you can get out, it’ll be clean but small.

After that, it’s a long, drawn-out drought. From Friday the 10th through to the 14th of July, the wind swings onshore or cross-on, the swell drops, and the combined energy gets into the double digits. That’s weak. The morning of Tuesday the 14th has a pulse of 2ft from the west with an 11-second period, giving it a bit more shape, energy at 85 – still moderate – and a clean cross-offshore breeze from the east. That could actually be a sneaky little session if the sandbanks hold, but it’s not a standout.

From there, we’re looking at a real flat spell. From Wednesday the 15th all the way through the weekend and into the next week, it’s tiny. Swell under 2ft, periods dropping, energy in the single digits. Conditions are often clean, but there’s simply no wave energy.

Finally, on Monday, July 20th – that’s a week and a half away – we start to see a pulse of energy coming back. The swell pushes up to 3ft to 3ft from the WNW with a 10-second period. Energy climbs to 123, then 197 by Monday afternoon – that’s getting into moderate territory. But the wind is onshore from the north and northwest, which ruins it. That morning is cross-on and choppy, the afternoon is onshore and sloppy. It’s a tease: there’s actual swell, but the wind is no good.

The standout – and I mean the one real highlight in this whole 16-day outlook – is Wednesday morning, July 8th. It’s the only time you get a glassy surface with any swell at all. 3ft from the west, moderate energy. It’s not world-class, but it’s the cleanest, most surfable window we get. For Strandhill, an exposed beach-and-sandbar, that offshore glass is your best chance for some fun, if small, waves.

If we’re talking second-week promise, the swell energy on the 20th–21st is there, but the wind is against it. That Monday the 20th afternoon has a moderate 3ft WNW swell with 197 energy, but the onshore breeze makes it a mess. If that wind shifts, it could turn on fast, but as of now, it’s a no-go. For the whole second week, July 20th is the one to watch, but keep expectations in check.

Overall, this is a lean stretch. The first week has one or two small, clean windows; the second week has a swell pulse that’s wind-chopped. For a spot that’s fairly consistent, it’s a frustrating run. But hey, it’s the coast – it doesn’t stay poor forever.

Rusty

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