Tandjung-Lefts Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s get into it.

Alright, I’ve been staring at the charts for Tandjung-Lefts, and honestly, it’s a tough stretch ahead. The overall pattern is dominated by a persistent cross-onshore wind that’s going to mess up what could otherwise be some decent pulses of SSW groundswell. The water’s sitting at 81° for the first window, which is bang on average for the time of year, so no surprises there.

We kick off on Monday the 20th with a solid 7 ft SSW groundswell, but that’s paired with a 25 km/h SE cross-onshore wind. The combined energy is strong at 2042, but it’s all for nothing with those choppy conditions. The forecast says "poor surf conditions" and I’m not arguing. That’s our reality for the rest of the first week and into the second. The wind stays stubbornly cross-on from the SE or ESE, blowing at 25 to 30 km/h, and the swell drops from 6 ft down to 3 ft. It’s a full week of waiting.

We get a bit of a reprieve on Monday the 27th morning – the wind swings to straight onshore from the E at 25 km/h, but it’s still onshore, not offshore. The swell is a short-period 5 ft SE windswell at 8 seconds. It’s not great, and the energy is low at 445. The afternoon goes back to cross-on, so no real window opens up.

The rest of the month is more of the same. The wind doesn’t let up. There’s a pulse of bigger swell on the 28th – 6 ft, SE, 8 seconds – but again, cross-on wind kills it. We see a brief moment on the 30th of July where the wind drops to a gentle 15 km/h, and we get a "marginal" call. The afternoon of the 30th even has a 5 ft SSW groundswell (period 15 seconds) with straight onshore wind. That’s the closest we get to being clean, but it’s still only a "1 out of 10" scenario. The combined energy on that afternoon is 1297, showing moderate energy, but it’s not enough to overcome the wind.

The first few days of August are a carbon copy: cross-on wind, lumpy, choppy, and "poor surf conditions" across the board. The swell direction stays SSW, with periods between 14 and 17 seconds, which is a nice long period groundswell that would normally be a dream for a point or reef. But Tandjung-Lefts is a reef that faces SSW, and it’s getting hammered by these onshore winds. The combined energy on the 4th of August hits 1556 in the afternoon, which is strong, but the wind is still cross-on at 20 km/h.

The only standout window, and I use that term loosely, is the afternoon of Thursday, July 30th. The wind goes straight onshore at 15 km/h, which is the cleanest we get. The swell is 5 ft from the SSW at 15 seconds. That’s a proper groundswell. Combined energy is 1297, so there’s plenty of push. It’s not glassy, but it’s the best of a bad bunch. For an advanced surfer who doesn’t mind a bit of onshore lump, it’s the only time to get out. The crowd factor is "sometimes" here, so you might have it to yourself, but that’s because it’s been so bad.

The rest of the 16 days is a write-off. There’s a gap of about 10 days from the 20th to the 30th where there’s nothing worth paddling out for. After the 30th, it’s back to the same old story. For a break that’s "fairly exposed" to the swell, that’s a real shame.

Stay patient, folks. The forecasts can change, but right now, it’s a waiting game. Rusty out.

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