Tullan Strand Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, surfers, Rusty here. Let's be straight with you – this forecast for Tullan Strand is a bit of a tough one. We have a long stretch of messy conditions to get through before we see a small window of something worthwhile.

Right now through the end of July, it’s mostly cross-onshore winds and poor surf quality. The water is sitting at 64°F which is much warmer than normal for this time of year, but that's the only good news. The swell is tiny and weak – just 2ft of short-period, wind-affected slop on the 21st, with a combined energy of only 36 – that’s barely a ripple. A southeast wind would be ideal for this exposed spot (which needs a west swell), but we aren’t seeing it.

The conditions stay bleak right through the weekend. Friday the 24th sees a bump up to 4ft (energy 202), but it’s still cross-onshore and choppy. By Saturday the 25th it gets a bit bigger, 5ft from the WNW, but the wind is howling from the W at 25 km/h, so it’s just going to be a bumpy, lumpy mess. This pattern carries on with moderate to fresh cross-onshore winds, and the swell gets up to 7ft on the 26th – that’s a solid 7ft with a very strong energy of 631 – but with harsh 30 km/h winds, this is more of a kite-surfing show than a paddle-surfing one. Don’t even think about it for beginners; it’s well over 5ft.

The doldrums continue into early August. Monday the 28th and Tuesday the 29th are still blustery with cross-shore winds and lumpy conditions.

Finally, there’s a glimmer. On Wednesday morning, the 29th of July, we get a brief change. The wind goes offshore, coming from the SE at a light 10 km/h, and we have a 5ft west swell with a period of 10 seconds and strong energy (441). That means clean waves with some shape. This is the standout of the whole 16-day window. It’s a west swell filling in with light offshore wind, which is about the best we can ask for here. However, the crowds at Tullan can be a thing (I see "sometimes" in the notes), so don’t expect to have it all to yourself.

That clean window is short-lived. By the afternoon, the wind swings back cross-onshore and messes it up again. After that, we fall back into small, weak swells with onshore or cross-offshore winds, and the poor surf continues well into the first week of August. Thursday the 4th and Wednesday the 5th of August show offshore winds again, but the swell is tiny – only 2ft and 1ft – so it’s clean but too small to bother. There’s really nothing else to recommend after that morning on the 29th.

For the next week or so, it’s a dry spell for decent waves. The forecasts can always shift, but as it stands, save your energy for that Wednesday morning session on the 29th.

Rusty.

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