Thompsons Bay Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let's have a look at what Thompsons Bay has in store for us over the next couple of weeks. Gotta be straight with you, it’s looking like a tough stretch for waves around here. The bay is pretty sheltered, and over this whole 16-day window, we just aren't seeing much that’ll get the heart racing.

The water’s sitting around 72°, which is pretty much what you'd expect for this time of year, no surprises there.

We kick off on Thursday the 30th of July, and honestly, it’s a write-off. There’s a solid 10ft swell from the south, but it’s got a short period and strong cross-onshore winds at 30 mph are just wrecking it. The energy is strong (1568), but the surf is messy and poor.

This ugly pattern keeps a hold of us right through the end of July and into the start of August. Friday the 31st and Saturday the 1st are both still carrying that big, messy swell with cross-shore winds. The conditions are just lumpy and choppy. It's not what you want.

We finally see the wind ease up a little on Sunday the 2nd of August. The swell drops to around 7ft from the southeast, with a longer 11-second period, giving it a bit more shape. A gentle breeze will leave a slight cross-chop, but it’s only a marginal call. It’s the first time I’d even consider paddling out, but it's far from perfect.

Monday the 3rd is a step down in size, and still messy. By Tuesday the 4th and Wednesday the 5th, the swell has faded to under 3ft. The highlight, and I use that term loosely, comes on Wednesday afternoon. We get a moment of complete glass with 0 mph wind and 3ft waves. The energy is weak (199) and it’s just surfable, but it's about the only window of clean conditions in the whole run.

From Thursday the 6th of August onward, it’s a long, quiet spell. We get a few pulses of very long-period groundswell from the south-southwest, with periods up to 18 seconds, but the heights are tiny, often below 3ft. The winds are all over the place, but mostly cross or cross-on, keeping the surface messy. The energy levels stay weak. There is a moderate energy spike on the 9th of August (1232) with 8ft swell, but it's from the east-northeast with a short period and onshore wind. Not worth your time.

Later on, around Monday the 10th and Tuesday the 11th of August, we see another bump in size, but it's plagued by strong winds, making it messy. By the end of the second week, we are back to small, weak groundswell and lumpy conditions.

Bottom line: don’t get your hopes up too high. This is a long, bleak run for Thompsons Bay. The only true standout, and I mean the only one, is that brief moment of glassy conditions on the afternoon of Wednesday the 5th of August. If you’re desperate, you could go for a float, but don’t expect much.

Rusty.

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