The Rock Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, this is Rusty checking in with a look at your local surf outlook. The pattern over the next couple of weeks is dominated by a persistent westerly wind, which means clean, offshore conditions are pretty much off the table for a while. We're looking at a long run of so-so to poor surf, so don't get your hopes up for anything classic.

The only break on the radar is The Rock, a pretty consistent beginner-friendly reef set-up. It's exposed to swell, so it catches most things, but the wind is the problem here. For the next week and a half, the wind is stuck in the west, blowing cross-shore. This creates a nasty cross-chop on the surface, messing up what would otherwise be a decent wave.

There's a bit of a pulse around Wednesday the 9th, with a 5ft swell from the west showing up, and combined energy hitting a moderate 1859. The wave period drops to 11 seconds on that one, so it'll have some push, but the cross-shore wind will keep it bumpy.

The highlight, if you can call it that, arrives on Friday the 12th of July. The swell stays up around 5ft from the west, and the period shortens to 9 seconds. The combined energy is still moderate at 642, but the wind backs off slightly to 12 mph. Still cross-shore though, so it's a case of "marginal" at best.

After that, from the 13th of July through the end of the outlook, the swell drops and the wind stays relentless. There are a few pulses of long-period groundswell (over 20 seconds!) around the 13th and 14th, but the swell is tiny (2ft) and the wind is just ruining it. A 21-second period wave at 2ft in a cross-shore wind is more of a ripple than a ride.

Forget about paddling. With persistent moderate cross-shore winds and plenty of chop, The Rock looks far more interesting for a kite session than a surf. The water temp is just average for this time of year, so no surprises there.

Really, there's nothing in this 16-day window that I'd paddle out for. Keep your gear waxed and wait for a change in the wind.

Rusty.

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