The Wedge Surf Forecast and Surf Report

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

Right off the bat, this isn’t a classic run of form. In fact, for the first week and a half, the surf is mostly on the small side, with a lot of marginal conditions and poor surf quality flagged. The water temp is sitting at 70°F, which is much warmer than normal for this time of year – a proper anomaly 4°F warmer. The first sniff of a wave comes Saturday afternoon July 25th. It’s a small 2ft SSW swell with a 21-second period – that’s a very long period groundswell, but combined wave energy is 519 (moderate). The wind is a cross-on light breeze, so it’s not ideal. The Wedge is a breakwater spot that needs a decent SSW direction, which we have, but the size is tiny and the conditions are “poor” on that first day.

Sunday the 26th sees a slight bump, with a 3ft SSW swell in the morning, period dropping to 19 seconds, and combined energy up to 736. Still light cross-on wind, but it’s still not firing. The whole first week is a grind of 3ft to 4ft swells with onshore or cross-on breezes, and the combined energy bounces between 600 and 900 – moderate energy but nothing exciting. The period is dropping from 21 seconds down to 14 seconds by the end of the month. It’s all marginal surf or poor conditions.

Then we hit the end of July. Friday July 31st, the swell finally pushes up to 5ft from the S, with period at 14 seconds and combined energy values hitting 1013 in the morning and 926 in the afternoon – that’s strong wave energy. The wind is light cross-shore and cross-on, so it’s messy. But this is probably the best-looking day on offer. With a 5ft S swell, it should have some punch, but at The Wedge, a S swell isn’t the optimum direction (SSW is). So, it won’t be perfect, but it’s the biggest we see. For a short window it’s worth a look, but not a standout for perfection.

After that, it drops off sharply. From August 1st, the swell tanks – 4ft down to 1ft by August 2nd. The last week of the forecast is a long, flat stretch. From August 2nd right through to August 9th, the swell is tiny – 1ft to 2ft – with poor surf conditions across the board. Combined energy plummets to under 200 (weak energy) and even below 100 on a few days. This is a proper blank run. The Wedge is fairly consistent normally, so a run this long with no decent waves is a bit of a bummer, but it happens.

If you’re determined, the best bet is Friday July 31st. It’s the biggest, at 5ft from the S, but the direction is off and the wind is light cross-shore. It’s the only window where the combined energy shows strong numbers. For anything else? You’re better off waiting until the next forecast period.

Rusty.

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