The Island Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s cooking for The Island over the next couple of weeks.

We’ve got a solid run of surf kicking off Monday, July 6th, with clean, long-period SW groundswell rolling in. The water’s sitting at 60° – just a tick cooler than normal for this time of year, but nothing to cry about.

Monday morning starts us off with 4 ft of SW swell at a juicy 14 seconds, and the wind is a light cross-offshore from the ENE. The wave energy is moderate (618), and it’s looking very good. By Monday afternoon, the swell drops a notch to 3 ft but stays clean. Not the biggest, but it’s a nice gentle intro.

Tuesday morning, July 7th, the swell bumps back up to 4 ft, period stretches to 16 seconds, and the wind goes offshore from the east at only 6 mph. Wave energy pushes to 616. That’s a real sweet spot for The Island – clean, lined-up walls. Tuesday afternoon is even better: the wind drops to near glass (3 mph from the east, offshore), swell holds at 4 ft, 16 seconds, and energy hits 715. This is a standout session for the week – glassy, consistent, and that long period will really make the reef pitch.

Wednesday morning, July 8th, things get serious. Swell jumps to 6 ft, period 17 seconds, and energy surges to 2174 – that’s strong wave energy. Wind is offshore from the ENE at 9 mph. This is excellent, but at 6 ft and long period, it’s getting into expert territory at the reef. Watch for it to suck dry on the inside. Wednesday afternoon stays big at 6 ft but the wind swings NNE 16 mph, cross-offshore. Still clean, but that morning is the pick.

Thursday and Friday (July 9th & 10th) get messy. The wind goes northerly, cross-shore, and picks up to 12–16 mph. Swell drops to 4–5 ft, but the chop ruins it. Thursday afternoon has a crazy 18-second period, but the cross-shore wind kills the shape. Not worth paddling out unless you like a wrestling match.

Saturday July 11th is a write-off. Strong onshore wind from the west at 22–28 mph, swell bumps up to 6–8 ft but it’s all wind chop. Sunday July 12th is worse – 10 ft of SW swell but cross-onshore at 19–22 mph. That’s kite-surf territory, not paddle.

Monday July 13th to Wednesday July 15th sees the swell ease back to 6–8 ft, but the wind is cross-on or onshore. It’s marginal at best – a few waves for the desperate, but not fun.

Then comes a serious reset. Thursday July 16th is the real standout of the whole forecast. Morning: 7 ft SW, 17 seconds, offshore wind from the ENE at 9 mph. Energy at 2416 – very strong. Afternoon: 7 ft SW, 15 seconds, and the wind goes glassy from the SSE at 3 mph. Energy 1823. Absolutely pristine conditions with a powerful, long-period groundswell. This is for experienced surfers – the reef will be firing. Mark it on your calendar if you can wait.

After that, Friday July 17th through to Tuesday July 21st turns into a long, blown-out mess. Winds howl – strong cross-shore, then cross-onshore up to near gale force. Swell stays around 4–5 ft but with 25–37 mph winds it’s all junk. The Island will be a washing machine.

So, bottom line: the first three days (Mon 6 – Wed 8 July) have plenty of clean, fun waves. Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday morning are the best of that block. Then a long gap of poor conditions until Thursday July 16th, which looks absolutely epic for the experienced crew. After that, nothing worthwhile for the rest of the period.

Stay stoked, and don’t sleep on that Thursday the 16th.

– Rusty

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