The Cutting Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, let’s get into it.

The window starts with a serious amount of ocean energy, but it’s a bit of a tricky start. We’ve got a massive pulse of SW groundswell hitting The Cutting on Saturday the 5th, with wave heights already at 12ft and rising to 15ft by the afternoon. The energy readings are huge – 5757 and 8885 respectively – so there’s plenty of power, but it’s just too much for this spot. The wind is howling out of the NW at 25 mph, which is cross-offshore and would normally be great, but when you’ve got that much water moving, it’s going to be a washing machine. This continues into Sunday the 6th, with the swell still towering at 12ft and 10ft, but the wind swings around to a cross-shore WSW, which is going to put a bit of chop on it. It’s still oversize. We don’t see it drop below that 7ft mark until Tuesday morning the 8th.

That Tuesday morning, the 8th, is where things start to get interesting. The swell eases to 7ft, but the period jumps to 18 seconds – that’s a proper groundswell. There’s a light offshore wind from the WNW at 6 mph, and the energy is a strong 3893. The water temp is about average for this time of year, so a normal 3/2mm wetsuit will do. This is the standout of the first week. It’s going to be clean, powerful, and with the long period, those sets are going to have some serious push. Get on it early, because the afternoon sees the swell bump back up to 10ft and go cross-shore, which is just too much again.

The narrative for the next several days is pretty straightforward: too big. Wednesday the 9th shows a massive jump to 16ft and 20ft with a horrendous onshore wind, and the energy readings go through the roof – 17363 and 22129. It’s a beast, but it’s not for surfing. Thursday the 10th and Friday the 11th are just variable shades of oversized, with heights staying between 13ft and 18ft. The wind is all over the place, but the predominant direction is onshore or cross-onshore, ruining any chance of it being rideable. You’d be crazy to paddle out in that. Honestly, it looks like it’s going to be a better window for kite surfing than paddle surfing at this break, with those strong winds and big, lumpy swells.

It’s not until Monday the 14th that The Cutting becomes a viable option again. The swell finally drops to 5ft in the morning and 4ft in the afternoon, with the period settling back to around 11-12 seconds. The wind swings offshore, out of the NNE, and it’s clean. The energy is more moderate, but it’s a proper, user-friendly size. This is the other good window, though the energy values are a bit lower than Tuesday the 8th.

After that, we hit a flat spell. Tuesday the 15th and Wednesday the 16th are poor – small, weak, and with a crappy cross-onshore wind. There’s nothing worth getting out of bed for.

The run home is promising. Thursday the 17th sees the swell pick back up to around 6ft to 7ft, with a nice light offshore or cross-offshore wind, and clean conditions. Friday the 18th morning is also a cracker – 8ft of SW swell with a 15-second period and a moderate offshore wind. It’s a bit more size, but it’s still in the experienced surfer range. The energy is solid at 3237. However, the afternoon gets blown out by a cross-shore W wind and rain, so get your surfs in early. Saturday the 19th looks good again, with clean offshore winds and sets around 6ft to 7ft.

Looking way out, the morning of Sunday the 20th has a super-long period of 21 seconds, but the swell has dropped to 6ft. It’s a tease – very long-period swells can break too straight at beach breaks, but The Cutting is a bit more of a defined break, so it might just work. The wind is cross-offshore, so it’s a possibility, but at that range, I’d call it promising but not a guarantee.

So, the two true standouts are Tuesday morning, the 8th, for the power and the 18-second period, and Monday, the 14th, for the clean, manageable size. If you can only surf once, make it the 8th. The rest of the first week is either too big or blown out, and there’s a few small, grovelly days mid-week.

Rusty.

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