The Spit Surf Forecast and Surf Report

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

Right off the bat, this is a tough outlook. The Spit is a river-mouth break that’s exposed to the east, and we’re seeing a lot of cross-shore wind and messy conditions for the first week. The first real glimmer of hope doesn’t show up until Saturday morning, July 11th. That’s the standout. Early that morning, we’ve got clean, glassy conditions with a light 3ft swell from the SE, period around 10 seconds. The combined energy is moderate (202), and with the wind dead calm, it’s going to be clean and user-friendly. The Spit is a beginner-friendly spot, and this is the kind of morning where a longboarder or a learner can really have a good time. Water temp is about average for this time of year, nothing wild.

The rest of the first week is pretty grim. Friday the 10th is a write-off with strong cross-shore winds and lumpy, poor surf. Saturday afternoon (July 11) gets a little bump in size to about 4ft but the wind turns cross-onshore, making it choppy. Sunday and Monday are tiny and weak, with energy dropping below 200. Not much to write home about.

Now, the second week gets interesting, but it’s for the right crew only. From Thursday, July 16th, we start seeing a big increase in swell size. Thursday afternoon, the swell jumps to 12ft from the SSE, with a huge combined energy of 2983 – that’s powerful. But the wind is a strong cross-shore, and the surf is described as poor. It’s big, messy, and not for the faint of heart. Friday, July 17th, holds massive 13ft swell from the SSE with a very long period of 13 seconds and energy over 7000. The report says the swell is predicted to be too big for this break. That’s expert-only territory, and even then, the wind is a fresh cross-shore, so it won’t be clean. The Spit isn’t really built for that kind of size.

Saturday, July 18th, is similar – 12ft from the SSE, again too big. There’s a window on Monday morning, July 20th, that looks promising with 4ft SE swell, glassy conditions, and moderate energy (254). That’s a decent little session for the patient surfer, but it’s a one-off. After that, the swell drops right back to tiny, sub-2ft waves for the rest of the forecast period.

Overall, if you’re a beginner or intermediate, your best bet is that Saturday morning, July 11th. For the experienced crew, the big swell days around July 17th and 18th are huge but wild, and likely too much for the river mouth. The long-period groundswell will be lining up, but it’s probably going to close out or break straight at this spot. Could be more of a kite-surfing show than a paddle session on those days. The rest of the time, it’s flat or marginal.

Keep an eye on the forecasts, because this stretch of poor surf won’t last forever, but July is looking sparse for The Spit.

Rusty.

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