The Cutting Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Righto, let’s have a look at what’s shaping up for The Cutting over the next couple of weeks.

First off, don’t even think about paddling out until at least Sunday the 26th. We’ve got a massive pulse of south-southwest swell rolling in right now, hitting 16 ft with a 15-second period, and the combined wave energy is a serious 12312 (strong) – that’s a whole lot of ocean moving around. The wind is howling cross-shore at 19 mph, so it’s lumpy and way too big for any sane paddle session. This chunk of swell stays way over 8 ft right through Saturday, so unless you’re a tow-in merchant, give it a miss. The water temp is sitting at 58°F, which is about average for this time of year.

Sunday the 26th morning offers a slight chance. The swell has dropped to 8 ft from the SW, period 11 seconds, and the wind has backed off to 12 mph from the WNW, blowing cross-offshore. That’s out of the “too big” danger zone but still solid. The combined energy is 1638 (moderate). It’s clean, but the set waves will be powerful, and the tide could be a bit of a pain. It’s a marginal call.

Monday the 27th is where it gets interesting. The swell is still a solid 8 ft from the SW, but the wind has gone offshore from the NNW at 12–16 mph. This is clean, groomed, and the period clocks in at 13 seconds – proper groundswell. The combined energy is 1387 to 1677 (moderate). This is for experienced surfers only at that size, but the conditions are excellent. This is a standout window.

Tuesday the 28th morning sees the swell jumping back up to 13 ft from the west, with a 12-second period and a fresh cross-offshore breeze. The energy is 8870 (strong). It’s clean, but that’s expert territory again – it’s going to be a beast.

Wednesday the 29th through Friday the 31st of July is a mixed bag of big, messy cross-onshore winds and lumpy seas, or clean, lighter winds with swell still in the 7 ft to 8 ft range. The standout in this stretch is Friday the 31st: morning and afternoon both have clean cross-offshore winds from the NW at only 6 mph, with 7 ft to 7 ft SSW swell at 12–13 seconds. The energy is moderate (1900–2052). Light winds and lined-up swell – that’s a proper session for a confident surfer.

Into August, the first weekend looks promising. Saturday the 1st has a 6 ft SSW groundswell with a very long 17-second period, gentle offshore wind from the north, and clean conditions. The energy is 2330 (moderate). That long period will wrap nicely into The Cutting, but it might break a bit straight out the back, so work the tide. Sunday the 2nd is bigger again at 10 ft from the SW with a 16-second period and a fresh offshore north wind – clean but for experts only.

The rest of the first week of August is dominated by more sizeable SW and SSW pulses, all over 10 ft, with clean windows on the 4th and 5th but still in that “too big for most” zone. The combined energy readings are consistently in the 3000–6000 range (strong to very strong).

Finally, the second week eases off. Saturday the 8th of August has the smallest swell of the whole outlook: 5 ft to 6 ft from the SW at 12–13 seconds, with a fresh offshore north-northwest wind at 19 mph. The combined energy is 1192 to 1371 (moderate). It’s clean and clean-faced, but the swell is small and the period is shortish. It’ll be a fun, punchy wave for a longer board, but nothing to get too excited about.

Best on offer: Monday the 27th of July and Friday the 31st of July. Both offer clean conditions with solid, manageable groundswell. If you can handle the size, Monday is the bigger, more powerful option. For cleaner, lighter lines, Friday is your day.

Rusty.

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