Thousand Steps Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Right then, let’s have a look at what’s on offer. It’s a bit of a mixed bag, to be honest. There’s some swell in the water, but the wind is going to be a spoiler for a lot of the run. The best windows are tucked away at the end of the month and into the first week of August.

We start on Tuesday the 21st of July at Thousand Steps. It’s a reef setup, intermediate level, and it handles a south-west swell. The water is a balmy 71.1°, which is a good 4.7° warmer than normal for this time of year – that’s pretty unusual, feels like a proper summer soak. Tuesday morning has a 3.9ft south-south-west swell with a very long period of 16 seconds, giving us moderate wave energy (758). The wind is blowing onshore from the south-west at 9 mph, which is onshore, but only a gentle breeze. It’s not terrible, but the report flags it as marginal. The afternoon gets worse, with a cross-onshore wind at 12 mph, dropping the swell to 2.9ft and messing up the surface. It’s a write-off, to be honest.

Wednesday the 22nd and Thursday the 23rd are more of the same. Swell hangs around 2.9ft to 3.3ft, but the wind is cross-onshore from the west and south-west, keeping the surf choppy and poor. Not worth paddling out for.

Friday the 24th is a bit of a tease. The swell is small, 2.0ft in the morning, but the period jumps to 24 seconds – that’s a seriously long groundswell. The wave energy is moderate (843). The problem is, it’s a cross-onshore wind from the south at 6 mph, so it’s not clean. It’s marginal, but that long period means the sets will be very far apart. For a reef like Thousand Steps, that groundswell could wrap in nicely if the wind ever drops, but it doesn’t.

The weekend of the 25th and 26th is a bit more promising. Saturday morning has a 2.6ft swell from the south-south-west with a 21-second period and an onshore wind from the south-south-west at 6 mph. The energy is solid (819). It’s still marked as marginal, but the onshore wind is light. If you’re keen, you could get a few clean ones, but don’t expect a classic. Sunday morning is similar, 2.9ft at 19 seconds, light cross-onshore wind. The energy is even higher (840). It’s still not perfect, but it’s the best of a bad bunch so far.

The middle of the week, the 27th through the 30th, is a grind. The swell hovers between 2.9ft and 3.6ft, with periods between 14 and 19 seconds. The wind is either cross-onshore or onshore, and the surf is consistently poor or marginal. There’s no standout day here.

Now, here’s where it gets interesting. On Friday the 31st of July, the swell pushes up to 5.2ft in the morning from the south, with a period of 14 seconds. The wave energy jumps to strong (1027). The wind is cross-onshore from the west at 9 mph, which chops it up, so it’s not a goer. The afternoon swell drops to 4.3ft but the wind picks up to 12 mph from the west-northwest, making it worse.

But then we hit the first of August. Saturday morning the 1st of August has a solid 5.6ft south swell with a 14-second period. The energy is very strong (1090). The wind is cross-onshore from the south-south-west at 6 mph, which is light, but it’s still marked as marginal. Now, keep your eyes on Saturday afternoon. The swell drops back to 4.9ft, but the wind goes glassy – dead calm, 3 mph from the south-south-west and described as “glass.” The energy is still strong (876). The report says “expect very good surf conditions.” This is the standout. For a reef break like Thousand Steps, that 4.9ft south swell with glassy conditions and a 14-second period is going to produce clean, lined-up waves. It’s intermediate level, so it’s fine for competent surfers, and the 4.9ft mark is just on the edge of being too big for beginners. The crowd factor is “sometimes,” so you might get a few others out, but with conditions that good, you’ll take it. This is the one to aim for.

After that, things fall apart fast. Sunday the 2nd of August sees a cross-onshore wind from the south-south-east at 12-16 mph, dropping the swell to 3.3ft and then 2

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