Thurso Reef Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here, lookin’ at the Thurso Reef forecast. We’ve got a bit of a mixed bag over the next couple of weeks, but there’s a couple of windows that’ll get your blood pumping, especially for the more experienced crew.

The surf starts with a pulse of energy rolling in this Friday afternoon, August 7th. We’re lookin’ at a solid 7ft W swell, but it’s a bit of a messy one with 19 mph cross-off winds and a short 8-second period. The water’s sittin’ at 56°, which is pretty much bang on average for this time of year. The combined energy is moderate at 532. It’s clean, but the wind is strong, so it’s not a total standout.

Saturday, August 8th, is where things get interesting. The morning is your best bet for a quality session. The swell holds at 7ft from the west, with a better 9-second period and a fresh offshore breeze from the SW at 22 mph. The energy kicks up to 692 (moderate), and the wind is clean as a whistle. The afternoon sees the swell jump to 8ft, with a 10-second period and a massive 1114 energy reading, but the wind goes cross-off, so it’s still rideable but not as perfect. This is a reef break, so it handles the longer period well, but it’s a spot for intermediates and up.

Sunday, August 9th, is a write-off. The morning has 7ft of swell but the wind is a messy cross-off at 22 mph, and the afternoon gets bigger at 8ft, but same story. The wind is just too strong to make it any fun. The setup is too chunky for paddle surfing, and with that much wind, this looks more like a kite-surfing zone than a wave-riding one.

After that, the surf drops off fast. From Monday, August 10th, through to the end of the period, it’s a desert. The swell gets tiny, mostly under 3ft, with a lot of cross-shore wind and lumpy conditions. The energy values are mostly in the double digits or low triple digits (weak to moderate), and the scores are all zero. There’s a small window on Thursday, August 20th, where the afternoon goes glassy with a 1ft NW swell, but it’s barely a ripple. The same goes for Friday, August 21st, with a glassy 2ft N swell in the afternoon. These are just ankle-biters, not worth getting wet for.

So, the true standout is Saturday morning, August 8th. That’s your best shot. The 7ft W swell with a clean offshore breeze and a 9-second period will give you some nice, clean lines at the reef. It’s a fairly consistent break, so you’ll get waves, but it can get crowded at times, so get in early. Nothing else in the 16-day window comes close to that quality.

Rusty.

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