The Heads Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s get into it for The Heads. We’ve got a solid run of swell coming through, but it’s not all blue skies.

The overall pattern is a long stretch of consistent SW groundswell, but the wind is going to be the main character in this story. For the first few days, the wind is messy, but hang in there because the second half of the first week and into the second week cleans right up for some quality sessions.

Friday morning, August 7th, is a bit of a teaser. The Heads is seeing a solid 8ft SW swell, with a period of 14 seconds. That’s proper groundswell. The wind is a gentle cross-off from the ENE, keeping the face clean. The water temp is about average for this time of year, so nothing wild there. The combined energy is strong (2762), so there’s plenty of push. This is a good one, but it’s for experienced surfers only at that size. The afternoon goes a bit sideways with the wind turning cross-shore, so the morning is the window.

Saturday the 8th and Sunday the 9th are a write-off. The wind swings onshore and picks up, with Sunday bringing rain and a messy 10ft to 12ft swell. That’s big, choppy, and just plain ugly. Not worth paddling out for.

Monday the 10th is still soggy with onshore wind, but the swell is dropping. The real action picks up again on Tuesday morning, August 11th. The swell hangs around 8ft from the SSW, with a 12-second period, and the wind goes clean cross-off from the ENE. The energy is still strong (1806). This is a great call for the experienced crew.

Now, the standout. Wednesday morning, August 12th. This is the one to circle on the calendar. Swell is a slightly smaller 5ft from the SSW, but the period jumps to an incredible 20 seconds. That is very long period groundswell, and at The Heads, a sandbar, it can sometimes break a bit straight, but the power and shape will be something else. The wind is glassy, absolutely dead calm (5 km/h from the NE). It’s clean, it’s lined up, and the energy is still strong (2440). This is a world-class morning for experienced surfers.

Thursday the 13th is another beauty. Offshore wind from the N at 5 km/h, with a 7ft SW swell and a 17-second period. The energy is pumping (2887). Glassy conditions again. This is top-tier.

The surf settles down a bit going into the weekend of the 14th and 15th, but the conditions remain clean. Friday afternoon, August 14th, is glassy with a 4ft SW swell, and Saturday afternoon, August 15th, is glassy again with a 5ft swell and a 16-second period. Perfect for a longboard or a funboard.

The following week, from Monday the 17th, we get another pulse of clean swell. Monday morning and afternoon both have 6ft SW swell with glassy conditions. The energy is solid (1348-1415). This run is clean and consistent.

The last few days of the window, from the 19th to the 22nd, the swell drops off and the period shortens, but there’s a final little spike on Friday afternoon, August 21st, with a glassy 7ft SSW swell. The energy is moderate (843), but it’s clean.

Overall, the best of the best is without a doubt Wednesday, August 12th morning, with that glassy, very long-period groundswell. Thursday the 13th morning is a very close second. The Heads is a sandbar, so it’s fairly consistent, but with that long period, you’ll want to be patient for the sets. Crowds are possible here, so get out early.

Rusty, signing off.

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