The Cove Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Let’s talk surf. To be straight with you, the next 16 days at The Cove look pretty flat. There’s a long stretch of tiny, weak waves that won’t make the paddle worth it. The first row of data kicks off on Saturday 25 July, but it’s not a recommendation – it’s a warning. We’re looking at a real quiet spell, with no decent surf on the cards until at least the second week of August.

Starting Saturday 25 July, the swell is a tiny 1.0ft to 1ft from the NE with a short period of 8 seconds. The combined energy is low, down around 22 (weak), and the wind is cross-onshore or gusty, making it messy. Sunday 26 July sees a bit of offshore wind in the morning, but the swell is still only 1.0ft, so it’s clean but flat. Monday 27 July morning is glassy – the wind is calm – but the swell has dropped to 0.7ft (energy just 7). It’s pretty as a picture but not surfable.

This pattern drags on. Tuesday 28 July through to the end of the month, we keep seeing 0.3ft to 1ft waves, mostly from the ENE, with periods bouncing between 4 and 10 seconds. The wind turns offshore or cross-off a few times, keeping the surface clean, but there’s just no push. The energy is weak, with values mostly in the single digits or low teens. It’s a real flat spell.

The first week of August is more of the same. Saturday 1 August and Sunday 2 August offer clean conditions with offshore or cross-off breezes, but the swell stays tiny – 0.7ft to 2ft – and the period is short, 4 to 9 seconds. The energy is still weak, the highest being 30 on Sunday afternoon (still moderate at best, but the swell is windswell, not groundswell). By Tuesday 4 August, we get a little bump to 2ft from the SE, but the period is only 4 seconds, so it’s mushy and onshore wind makes it choppy.

The only real chance of interest comes around Friday 7 August and into Saturday 8 August morning. The swell lifts to 3ft from the ESE on Friday morning (combined energy 41 – still weak, but it’s the highest we’ll see). The period is still short at 5 seconds, so these are weak, wind-driven waves. Wind is cross-onshore, so expect bumpy, messy conditions. Not a standout by any stretch.

Honestly, there’s no standout session in this 16-day window. The Cove is a beach and reef setup, fairly exposed to the NNE swell, but the optimum swell direction is NNE, and the forecast has nothing coming from that direction. The water temperature anomaly is average for this time of year, so no weird currents from that.

The first surf recommendation arrives on Friday 7 August morning, but even then, it’s marginal. The crowd factor is “sometimes” at The Cove, so on a small wave day like this, it’ll be quiet. The break is fairly consistent, but this run of poor surf is more about the complete lack of swell. A blank run like this is normal for the area when the swell direction isn’t cooperating.

Rusty.

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