The Gallows Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here, let’s talk about what’s on the table for The Gallows.

The Gallows is a reef break that really only suits advanced surfers, and for the next two weeks it’s one of those stretches where the swell is just too much of a good thing. We’re looking at a solid run of big, powerful WSW groundswells rolling in with very long periods of 14 to 16 seconds. The wave energy is pumping hard, hitting that strong to very strong range (wave energy values in the thousands), so there’s no shortage of juice. But the problem is, for an exposed reef like this, when the swell is over 8 feet, it’s expert territory, and a lot of this period has swells around 10 feet to 15 feet. The water is sitting at 67°, which is a touch warmer than normal for August.

Let’s run through the dates. Things start off on Tuesday morning, August 18th with a massive 15-foot swell out of the WSW, period 16 seconds, and the wave energy is through the roof. There’s a brief window of favourable wind and tide, but the forecast is clear: the swell is predicted to be too big for this break. The wind is a gentle WNW breeze, which would have been nice in smaller surf, but not here. That afternoon, it gets worse with a NW cross-onshore breeze at 15 mph and poor conditions.

The whole of Wednesday the 19th and Thursday the 20th stay in that same boat – 13-foot to 15-foot swell, still with that massive 16-second period, and cross-onshore winds from the SW at 12-15 mph. A few slots are flagged as having favourable wind and tide again, but still the swell is just too big, making it unsurfable. The energy readings are insane.

Friday morning, August 21st, looks tempting for a split second. We’ve got a glassy calm morning with 12-foot swell... but again, the system says it’s too big for this break. That is a real shame, because glassy conditions on an 12-foot groundswell would be a dream at a different spot. The afternoon goes cross-onshore.

Saturday the 22nd sees the swell drop slightly to 10 feet in the morning with a light cross-shore breeze, and it’s still flagged as too big. After lunch, the wind cranks up to 18 mph from the SSW, creating poor, lumpy conditions.

From Sunday the 23rd onwards, we enter a long stretch of messy, cross-onshore winds that really spoil any chance. The swell hangs around 8 feet to 10 feet, but the wind is onshore or cross-onshore from the SW and SSW, and the wave comments turn to “poor surf conditions” and “marginal” for days on end. There’s no standout window here.

We get a bit of a lull around Thursday the 27th and Friday the 28th with the swell dropping to 4 feet to 8 feet, but the wind is howling at 25 mph from the south, making the ocean a cross-shore, lumpy mess. Not worth it.

The end of the month and into September isn’t much kinder. Saturday the 29th and Sunday the 30th have some 8-foot WSW swell with lighter winds, but it’s still cross-onshore and only rated marginal. Then on Sunday afternoon and Monday, August 31st, we see another pulse of 10-foot swell and even a brief window of favourable conditions, but once again, it’s flagged as too big for The Gallows.

Best on offer: If you *have* to paddle out, the morning of Friday, August 21st is the best the period gets. Glassy conditions, an 12-foot WSW groundswell with a 15-second period, and massive wave energy. But honestly, at this size on this reef, and the fact it’s called out as too big, it’s for experts only. The very end of the run, Monday afternoon, August 31st, has a glimmer with 8-foot swell and calm offshore winds from the WSW, and it gets a marginal score. That might be the most accessible wave of the whole two weeks, though it’s still powerful. Crowds are listed as “sometimes,” so expect some company at this reliable spot if the conditions finally line up.

Bottom line: The Gallows has the swell, it has the energy, but it’s mostly too big and too windy to be any kind of fun. Keep an eye on that 31st August afternoon window.

- Rusty

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