The Spit Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Right, mate, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at The Spit for the next couple of weeks.

To be honest, this is a pretty grim run for The Spit. The whole forecast is just one long stretch of poor conditions, with no real standouts for a proper surf. The winds are mostly cross, cross-on, or just plain messy, and the swell is backed up by some pretty strong energy for a river mouth – we’re talking a combined energy of around 276 to 1570, which is moderate to strong, but it’s all wasted on the wrong wind. The water temp is about average for this time of year, so nothing weird there. The Spit is a consistent river break, exposed to the east, with an optimum swell from the east, but the swell we’re getting is mostly from the SE or ESE.

For the first week, from Friday the 17th of July right through to the following Friday the 24th, it’s just a write-off. The swell gets up to 8 ft or even 10 ft on Monday the 20th, but it’s all cross-onshore wind, making it lumpy, choppy, and messy. That size is for experts only, but with the wind, it’s not even worth it. The period is around 8 to 10 seconds, which is pretty average. There’s a brief moment on Wednesday morning the 22nd with a slight cross-on and 5 ft, but it’s only a 1/10 quality. The end of the week, around Friday the 24th, sees a drop in size to 5 ft, but the wind is still fresh cross-shore, so it’s lumpy.

The second week looks bleak too. From Saturday the 25th of July to Thursday the 31st, the swell drops right off to 1.0 ft to 3 ft, with only a couple of ‘surfable but very ordinary’ moments. The combined energy is weak, down in the 23 to 86 range for most of it. The best you’ll get is Thursday the 23rd morning with a light cross-off, 3 ft, and clean conditions, but it’s just a 1/10. Then on the 31st of July, Friday afternoon, there’s a glassy moment with 0.7 ft, but that’s barely a ripple. On Saturday the 1st of August, the wind finally goes offshore from the west at 19 mph, but the swell is just 1 ft, so it’s clean but tiny.

Honestly, there’s nothing here to get excited about. If you’re a beginner, the 4 ft to 5 ft stuff on the first few days might be *okay* size, but the wind is just too bad. For everyone else, save your energy. The best chance is possibly the 23rd of July morning, but it’s still a very ordinary wave. With a beach and river setup and this much wind, this might be more interesting for kite surfing than a standard paddle.

Rusty.

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