Tea Break Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Hey, Rusty here. Let’s be real – this 16-day window is a tough one. We’ve got waves on the menu, but the conditions are just not cooperating. The wind is locked in from the east, with a cross or cross-onshore direction almost every day, and that’s gonna keep the surface ugly. There’s no good surf on offer at the start – the whole run is a bit of a blank for quality.

Let’s go through it. Starting Sunday, July 26th, we’ve got a 4ft east swell with a short 8-second period in the morning, but a 12 mph crosswind is already messing it up. The water temp is 83°, which is about average for this time of year – nothing special. The afternoon gets a bit bigger, 5ft, but the period drops to 6 seconds and the wind picks up to 16 mph, so it’s just a lumpy mess. The combined energy is moderate (152), but it’s labelled “poor surf conditions” – that says it all.

Monday the 27th and Tuesday the 28th are more of the same: chest-high waves with cross-shore winds and short periods. The energy sits around the 100-150 mark, moderate but weak. Wednesday the 29th the afternoon swell bumps up to 5ft again, but with a 6-second period and 16 mph wind, it’s just a bumpy, choppy affair. By Thursday the 30th, the morning sees a bit of a clean-up with a cross-offshore wind, but the swell is only 5ft at 7 seconds – still not worth getting excited about.

The second week doesn’t get any better. From Friday, July 31st, right through to Monday, August 10th, we’re stuck in a pattern of east swells, 3ft to 5ft, with periods mostly between 5 and 8 seconds. The wind stays a constant 12 to 19 mph from the east, keeping the cross-chop and lumpy conditions alive. The combined energy peaks around 339 on the 31st afternoon, but with a fresh breeze and a lumpy cross-chop, it’s not surfable quality. For a few days around August 5th and 6th, the energy drops to weak levels (63-104), and the swell is small and short-period.

The only standout, if you can call it that, is on Thursday, July 30th, morning. The wind shifts to a cross-offshore, giving us a clean surface, and the swell is a consistent 5ft from the east with a 7-second period. The energy is moderate (196). It’s the cleanest window we get, but the waves are still weak and short-period. It’s an intermediate wave at best. For beginners, the swell stays under 5ft most of the time, so it’s not too big, but the choppy conditions make it tricky. No spots are big enough for experts only.

Tea Break is a consistent reef break that’s exposed to the east swell, and the optimum direction is NNE, so this east swell is a bit off-angle. It’s a spot that can get crowds sometimes, but with this forecast, it’ll be quiet. Honestly, with the persistent cross-shore wind and short-period chop, this setup looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing – the wind is consistent and the waves are small and messy.

Don’t give up, though. Forecasts can change, and it never stays this poor for too long. But for now, keep your board in the truck and wait for a better day.

Rusty.

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