The Harbour Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G'day, Rusty here. Let's be straight with you – the outlook for The Harbour over the next 16 days is a tough one. It's a bleak run, and I gotta tell you upfront, there's really nothing worth paddling out for. You'll see some small bumps here and there, but the forecast scores are telling me it's all "poor surf conditions" all the way through. So, don't be expecting any barrels or clean waves. It's one of those stretches where the area just goes quiet.

Let's start from the beginning. Sunday, the 5th of July, rolls in with a tiny 0.7ft swell from the South, with a short, weak period of only 4 seconds and combined energy of just 1 (weak energy). The wind is a cross-off from the SSE at 6 mph, so it's clean, but there's no power behind it. It's a write-off. Monday the 6th is even worse – nothing in the morning, and by the afternoon we get a meagre 2.0ft swell from the SSW, period still only 5 seconds and energy at 20 (weak). The wind shifts to a cross-off, but the waves are just messy and weak. Tuesday the 7th is a bit of a tease; morning has a 1.6ft SSW swell, period still 5 seconds, energy at 13 (weak), with a cross-off wind. The afternoon, however, turns glassy with a light SE breeze at 3 mph. But it's only 1.3ft and 4 seconds – a flat, glassy pond. You could sit out there on a longboard and not move. Wednesday the 8th and Thursday the 9th are near flat, with only a 1.0ft bump on Thursday morning from the SSE, period 4 seconds, energy a tiny 3 (weak). It's just not happening.

As we move into the second week, the pattern doesn't change. From the 10th of July through to the 16th, we see a few pulses of swell, but they're all small, short-period affairs. For example, Monday the 13th sees a 2.6ft NE swell with a period of 7 seconds, energy climbing to 56 (weak) in the morning, and 97 (weak) in the afternoon. That's the biggest energy we see, but the swell height is still a modest 3.3ft on the Monday afternoon. Problem is, the wind is onshore from the NE, blowing right into the break. The wave comment says "poor surf conditions" – and with that onshore wind, it's going to be messy and choppy. Tuesday the 14th offers a 2.6ft NE swell, period 7 seconds, energy around 67-69 (weak), but again, onshore and cross-onshore winds spoil it. It’s not worth it.

The last few days of the outlook, from the 17th to the 20th, are more of the same. Friday the 17th has a 3.0ft NNE swell in the afternoon, with a period of only 5 seconds and energy at 53 (weak). The wind finally goes offshore from the WSW at 16 mph, which is clean, but the swell is too weak and short-period to form anything decent. Saturday the 18th is a total dud – just 0.3ft from the East, energy at 1-2, and it's blown out by a fresh 19 mph cross-off wind. After that, it goes completely flat from Sunday the 19th onwards.

I hate to say it, but this is a blank run. The Harbour just isn't delivering. It's a beach/groyne setup, so when the swell is this small and weak, and the wind isn't perfect, it's a no-go. We see a couple of windows with clean conditions, but the waves are simply too small and weak to ride. Stick to the coffee shop, or go for a skate. The ocean’s asleep.

Read more