Suicide Cliffs Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, let’s get into it. This is a tricky one, folks. Suicide Cliffs is a spectacular-looking reef break, but for the next 16 days, it’s a real mixed bag and mostly a no-go. We’re kicking off right now, Tuesday the 4th of August, with tiny, weak swell. The water is a warm 87°, which is a touch warmer than normal for this time of year, so you won’t need a thick wetsuit, but you won’t need much of a board either. The waves are just 1 ft from the south with a short period, and the energy is barely there (20). The wind is okay, cross-off, but there’s just nothing to work with here. It’s a flat start.

Wednesday the 5th isn’t any better. Still tiny, 2 ft, still short-period, and the wind picks up, making it messy. We’re looking at a real blank run for the first few days.

Then things get wild. From Thursday the 6th through to Sunday the 9th, we get massive, dangerous swell. But it’s way too big. On Saturday the 8th, we’re looking at 21 ft to 28 ft of west-southwest swell. The energy is immense (20,470 on Saturday arvo). The problem is the wind is howling. We’re talking storm-force to hurricane-force winds. Even though the swell direction is bang-on for Suicide Cliffs, which loves a good SW groundswell, the wind is cross-on and absolutely shredding it. Sunday the 9th is the peak, with a staggering 46 ft swell and 80,350 combined energy, but it’s a hurricane-force cross-on mess. This is not for surfing. This is for big-wave tow-in experts only, and even then, the wind is a deal-breaker. It’s more of a spectacle than a session.

The following week is a slow, messy cleanup. Monday the 10th still has a massive 25 ft swell, but it’s blown out by gale-force cross-onshore winds. Tuesday the 11th drops to 10 ft, but still onshore and lumpy. It stays like this for a few days – cross-onshore, lumpy, and blown out.

We finally get a window of hope on Thursday the 13th of August. The swell drops to a manageable 4 ft to 5 ft from the south-southwest, but the key is the wind. Thursday morning we have a gentle cross-off breeze from the northeast, and by the afternoon it’s a clean offshore from the north-northeast. The energy is moderate (848 and 663). This is the standout of the whole forecast. The waves won’t be huge, but at Suicide Cliffs, a clean 5 ft SW groundswell with offshore wind is a recipe for some really fun, peeling waves. It’s a very consistent spot, so there will be waves. The crowds are often here, so expect company.

Friday the 14th is still okay, with 5 ft to 5 ft and clean conditions, but it’s just a notch below Thursday. After that, the swell fades fast. From Saturday the 15th onward, it’s back to small, weak, and mostly cross-shore or onshore winds. The energy drops below 500, and the waves shrink back to under 3 ft. There are a few clean, tiny days in the second week (like the 17th and 18th), but with the swell is so small and weak, it’s just a longboard cruise if you’re desperate.

Overall, the best of the 16 days is hands-down Thursday the 13th. The rest of the first week is a write-off due to extreme size and wind, and the second week is too small to get excited about.

Rusty.

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