The Spit Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here, let's do this.

First up, it's a bit of a flat spell with a side order of frustration on the Gold Coast. The Spit's our only game in town for this whole 16-day stretch, so it's either this or nothing. The water temp is sitting about average for now, so no surprises when you hit the water.

Over the first few days, we've got some push from the east and southeast, but the wind is a real problem. Sunday the 5th is a write-off – lumpy, cross-shore crud with an onshore breeze all day. That carries right through Monday and Tuesday with the southeast swell filling in a bit more – we're looking at 4.9ft to 5.9ft on Monday, but the wind's just too strong and cross, making it messy. We're seeing moderate wave energies touching 543 to 694 on the Monday arvo, but with poor conditions, it's not worth paddling out. The ocean has energy (combined swell energy around 514 to 694), but it's not doing us any favours.

Then Wednesday the 8th is where things get weird. The afternoon sees a big jump in swell height to 8.2ft from the south-southeast, with a long period of 11 seconds. That energy reading spikes right up to 2301 – that's strong. The commentary even says the wind and tide are favorable, but that swell is just too big for the break. The Spit's a river mouth, so it can get cranky with that much water moving. If you're a proper expert who knows the sandbanks intimately, maybe you have a look, but for the rest of us, it's a day to watch from the bank. The morning of the 8th is still just a messy 5.6ft with poor conditions.

Things settle down a touch from the 9th onwards, but the quality is still more miss than hit. Thursday and Friday have some southeast swell but the winds are cross or cross-onshore, keeping things ordinary. The morning of Friday the 10th is borderline – 6.6ft from the south-southeast with a gentle cross-shore – but it's a marginal call. Then a real surprise: the morning of Saturday the 11th. The wind goes completely glassy from the west-northwest with a light air, and we've got 3.0ft at 10 seconds from the southeast. Combined energy is 145, so it's weak, but for a few hours, The Spit could be clean and small. That's your best bet for the entire forecast. Sunday the 12th is okay with offshore winds and small, clean 2.0-2.3ft, but it's very ordinary.

From Monday the 13th onward, it's a long slow fade to flatness. Tiny waves, weak energy readings in the 30s and 40s, and mostly poor conditions. The exception is the morning of Wednesday the 15th – a 3.9ft from the south-southeast with a moderate offshore breeze from the west-northwest. The period is only 5 seconds though, so it's weak, short-period stuff. Still, it's clean. The mornings of the 16th and 20th have glassy conditions with tiny 1.6-2.6ft waves, but they're not worth a paddle.

Bottom line: The only real standout is the glassy morning of Saturday the 11th of July – it's clean, small, and surfable. The rest of the 16 days is either blown out, too big, or flat. If you've got any other options, I'd be taking them. This is a dry run for The Spit.

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