Tengan Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Look, I’ll be straight with you – the next week and a half is a tough stretch if you’re hanging out for a wave. We’ve got a real slow start, with nothing worth paddling out for until well into the first week of August. The first decent sign of life doesn’t show up until Monday the 3rd of August, and even then it’s a slow build.

The only break on the menu is Tengan, a reef set-up that’s inconsistent and tends to work best with a NE swell direction. For the first few days, it’s flat with tiny, weak 0.7ft to 1ft SE/ESE windswell, and most of that time the energy is pathetic (8-20 in the combined energy). You’ll get some nice glassy mornings on Wednesday the 29th of July and Thursday the 30th of July, but there’s just no wave to ride.

There’s a real gap until the first worthwhile swell actually appears. On Sunday the 2nd of August, the afternoon sees a pulse of long-period 1ft ESE swell at 16 seconds, but with only 51 combined energy, it’s still flat. The real change starts Monday the 3rd of August: a clean morning with a 2ft E swell, 14 second period, and a combined energy of 206 – it’s small but at least there’s some push. Winds are cross-off from the NNW, keeping it clean. The afternoon gets a touch more size (3ft) and a very long 15 second period, but it’s a cross-shore wind that puts a bit of chop on it. It’s marginal but a start.

Tuesday the 4th of August is where things get interesting. The morning session offers a clean 4ft E groundswell with a 16 second period and big energy (652). That’s a proper wave building. The afternoon pushes to 4ft at 18 seconds, but the cross-shore wind (1088 energy) makes it a bit lumpy. Wednesday the 5th of August is the first real standout for bigger surf. Clean, cross-off winds all day with a building 6ft to 6ft E swell at 18-19 seconds. The combined energy jumps into the thousands (1822-2342). That’s a solid, powerful groundswell. For experienced surfers, this is getting good.

The standout window for the bigger stuff is Thursday the 6th of August. Morning shows a clean 8ft E swell, 19 second period, with a massive 4062 combined energy. That’s getting into strong territory. The afternoon peaks at 8ft, same direction and period, energy up to 4442. Winds are cross-off from the WNW, keeping it clean. This is expert-level size – not for beginners. The swell direction is pretty much straight out of the east, which isn’t bang on the optimum NE for Tengan’s reef, but with that much energy and length, the reef should still produce.

Friday the 7th of August goes offshore from the west, which is a major positive for shape. Fresh 19 mph offshore winds will groom a dropping 6ft ENE swell in the morning (2374 energy), cleaning up nicely. Afternoon drops to 4ft ENE with a fresh offshore breeze still holding. That’s a great day for a surfer who wants clean, solid waves without the giant size.

Now, Saturday the 8th of August is the absolute pick of the whole outlook. The morning has a 10ft N swell at 13 seconds (2817 energy) with a light cross-off breeze and clean conditions. That is proper, powerful, and with a more favourable northerly direction. The afternoon goes glassy with a 8ft N swell and a combined energy of 2385. That’s a huge day for experts only. Glassy, clean, and a lot of water moving. That’s the one to circle.

After that, it fades quickly. Sunday the 9th through to Wednesday the 12th of August, the swell drops back to 2ft to 5ft but the wind turns onshore from the east and ENE, ruining any quality. The combined energy drops into the hundreds, and conditions are poor. By Wednesday the 12th, it’s storm-force winds (56 mph from the NW) with only 2ft of weak swell – that’s a write-off for surfing, honestly more of a kite day if anything.

So to sum it up: the first real waves come Monday the 3rd, but the best windows are Wednesday the 5th through to Saturday the 8th of August. The absolute standout is Saturday the 8th with that big, clean N swell. It’s a long wait, but there’s a payoff.

Rusty.

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