Tamarama Reef Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Righto, Rusty here with a look at what’s on the cards for Tamarama Reef over the next couple of weeks.

Honestly, it’s a bit of a tough stretch to start. The first few days are flat with no surf worth paddling out for. We’ve got a gap right through until Thursday the 30th of July before anything remotely rideable shows up.

Thursday 30th July is when we finally see a pulse of swell, with 5ft southerly swell pushing in early morning. The wind is a clean cross-offshore from the WSW at 9 mph, so the surface should be tidy. The combined wave energy is moderate at 358, but the period is only 9 seconds – it’s a short-period wind swell, so it won’t have much grunt. It’s surfable but average. By the afternoon, the wind swings onshore and the swell jumps a touch to 5.6ft, but it gets choppy and messy. That morning window is your best shot, but honestly, it’s not a standout.

Friday 31st July sees a bigger bump of 7.2ft southerly swell early with a better 11-second period – that’s a longer period groundswell with more push. The energy jumps way up to 1794, which is strong. The catch? The wind is a cross-shore SSW breeze at 9 mph, so there’s a slight cross-chop on the face. It’s borderline clean, but with that size, Tamarama Reef is only for advanced surfers. Too much power for beginners. The morning is the pick, but conditions are average.

Saturday 1st August brings a drop back to 5ft from the SSE with a 10-second period and a glassed-out offshore northwest wind at 6 mph in the morning. This is the morning to circle – clean, lined-up, and manageable for intermediate surfers. The wave energy is a solid 480 (moderate to strong). That morning is the best of the first week.

Sunday 2nd August is similar: 4.3ft SSE swell with that same offshore NW wind at 9 mph in the morning. Again, clean conditions with a gentle offshore breeze. The energy is a moderate 333. It’s a smaller, cleaner day, but the window is short – by afternoon the wind turns onshore and ruins it.

After that, the bottom drops out. From Monday 3rd August all the way through to the end of the forecast on Wednesday 12th August, the swell is tiny – mostly under 3ft – and the wind is either cross, onshore, or just wrong. There’s a big stretch of poor surf with no real size or clean windows. The only blip is the morning of Wednesday 5th August with 4.3ft S swell at 8 seconds, but it’s onshore SE wind and the energy is only 214. Not worth getting wet for.

The water temperature

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