Vunaniu Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let’s talk about what we’ve got on the horizon for our one and only spot this week and beyond.

Right now, the swell is small and the conditions are just okay. It’s a slow start, but there's some real promise later on. The water temperature is sitting at 78°, which is pretty much what you’d expect for this time of year, nothing unusual there.

Tuesday morning (July 7th) kicks things off at Vunaniu with a clean 3ft swell from the southeast, period around 10 seconds. The wind is light and offshore from the NNE, so it’ll be glassy. The energy is on the weaker side (353), but for a small, clean wave it’s a nice way to ease in. It’s an inconsistent reef break, so you might have to wait for your sets, and it can get crowded sometimes.

Tuesday afternoon gets even better. The swell drops even more to 3ft but shifts to a long-period 16-second groundswell from the southwest. The wind goes glassy, dead calm from the ESE. The energy jumps up to a moderate 709. This is the standout of the first few days – super clean, glassy conditions on a long-period SW groundswell. That long period will make for nice, lined-up waves on the reef.

Now, Wednesday July 8th through Friday July 10th is a rough stretch. The swell pumps up to 8ft – 10ft from the south-southwest, with very strong energy (over 4600 in places). But the wind is cross-onshore or onshore, ripping at 12 mph, making it choppy and messy. At 10ft, this is expert-only territory, and with the poor wind, it’s really not worth paddling out. That big, powerful swell is just getting shredded by the wind. Might look more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing.

Saturday July 11th and Sunday morning July 12th see the swell dropping, but it’s still on the bigger side (8ft down to 6ft). Sunday morning is a sleeper: a 6ft SSW swell with a 12-second period and a light cross-offshore breeze from the ENE. Clean faces for experienced surfers, with a solid 1470 energy. That’s a real good window for anyone with some skill.

After that, the swell backs right off into the second week. From Monday July 13th through Tuesday July 14th, the swell hangs around 3ft to 4ft, with moderate cross-shore winds. Nothing to write home about.

Wednesday July 15th sees a weird little SE windswell pop up with a very short period of 6-7 seconds and around 0.4 energy. Weak and choppy.

Then we get another promising window. Thursday July 16th has a 3ft, 16-second SW groundswell with a light offshore wind from the NE in the morning. Clean waves again. Friday July 17th morning is a true standout for the long range – glassy, calm winds, with a 5ft, 18-second south-southwest groundswell. That’s very long period groundswell, and it’s going to pulse on the reef with a solid 1629 energy. Clean, powerful, long lines. This is the one to circle on your calendar, but it’s a week and a half away, so keep an eye on it.

Saturday July 18th gets messy again with heavy rain and onshore wind. Sunday July 19th morning offers another brief window of calm with a light northerly breeze and a 5ft, 12-second SSW swell.

The last few days, Monday July 20th through Wednesday July 22nd, show another bump in swell (6ft) with moderate side-offshore winds, so there might be a few clean waves, but the energy is moderate. Wednesday July 22nd morning finishes the outlook with a nice, clean 4ft swell and a light offshore breeze.

Overall, Tuesday afternoon (July 7th) for the glassy, clean start, and Friday morning (July 17th) for the long-period groundswell with glassy conditions are the true standouts. The rest is a mix of too-big-and-messy or too-small-and-clean. Patience is the key.

Rusty

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