The Island Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let's have a look at what the charts are serving up for The Island. It's a reef break, exposed and set up for a good SW groundswell. Water temp is sitting at 60.8°, which is about normal for this time of year, so no surprises there.

The pattern is pretty clear: we've got a solid, long-period SW groundswell arriving, and it's going to stick around for a while. The energy is strong, hitting a massive 2438 on Friday the 3rd, and it's pulsing through the weekend. For the experienced crew, Saturday the 4th is your standout. The morning is looking magic with an offshore breeze from the E at 9 mph, grooming that 5.6 ft SW groundswell (14-second period) into clean, contestable lines. That's the pick of the first week. There's also a strong pulse on Sunday morning the 5th, with a 6.2 ft SW swell and a very long 17-second period, pushing the energy up to 2228. The wind is cross-offshore though, not quite as glassy as Saturday but still clean. Keep in mind that with a period that long, it's a proper groundswell – these waves have serious energy and will be a bit more lined-up and better shaped at a reef like The Island, but the gaps between sets will be longer.

Monday the 6th sees the swell start to back off, dropping to 3.9 ft and losing that real grunt. The waves will still be there but a lot weaker. The middle of the week (Tuesday 7th to Thursday 9th) is small, with clean conditions but nothing to get excited about. We get a bit of a second pulse from Wednesday the 8th, with a 6.6 ft SW swell and another 17-second period, pushing the wave energy back up to 2316, but the wind is cross-offshore from the NE. The conditions look clean, but that cross-off angle might pull the wave a bit.

Now, the outlook gets a bit gnarly for the second week. Saturday the 11th sees the swell pick up again, but the wind swings northerly, putting a cross-chop on it. Sunday the 12th is a write-off for surfing – a strong SW wind at 22 mph and a lumpy, cross-onshore mess with an 8.2 ft swell. It's going to be ugly.

The real standout of the whole 16-day period actually falls on Monday the 13th. The swell is a solid 9.8 ft from the SW, the combined energy is a whopping 5296, but the wind is a strong cross-shore from the SSW at 12 mph. That's going to make for powerful, challenging surf. This is strictly for the experts; it's too big and powerful for anyone without serious experience. For the rest of that week, the swell drops back down, and the winds remain tricky.

For the final weekend, the 17th and 18th, we get back to smaller, cleaner conditions with light offshore winds. It's a nice way to finish, but the real magic is in that first weekend and the big, raw power on Monday the 13th.

Best bet: Saturday morning, the 4th of July. Get on it.

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