Watermans Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Right then, let’s have a look at what’s on the cards for Watermans. It’s a reef set-up, pretty exposed to the west-southwest, so it knows how to handle a proper swell. The water’s sitting at 64° and that’s a bit colder than what we’d normally expect for this time of year, so you might want an extra layer.

The week kicks off with a heavy pulse of swell. Saturday the 18th is a write-off, I’m afraid – 13ft of west-southwest swell with a 15 second period, but it’s onshore and messy. The combined energy is massive at 6675, but it’s just not clean. Not worth the look.

Sunday the 19th morning is where it starts to get interesting. That swell drops to 8ft, still from the west-southwest, 14 second period, and the wind goes glassy – light west-southwest. That’s a big positive. The combined energy is powerful at 2765, but this is big, clean water for experienced surfers only. Afternoon sees a cross-on breeze mess it up.

Monday the 20th morning is a gem. The swell drops to 5ft from the west-southwest, 13 second period, and it’s dead calm – glassy. Combined energy sits at 822, a nice moderate feel. This is clean, well-shaped reef surf, perfect for a morning session when the crowds are often around. The afternoon goes a bit choppy.

Tuesday the 21st morning offers a 5ft south-west swell with a 14 second period, and a light cross-off breeze from the north-northeast keeps it clean. Energy is 816. It’s not the biggest, but it’s clean and fun.

Wednesday the 22nd is a standout for the first week. Morning and afternoon both have a 5ft and 5ft south-west swell, 13 seconds, with a gentle offshore easterly breeze. Clean, lined up, and the energy is solid (841 and 1000). This is a classic small-to-medium reef day, good for a range of abilities.

Thursday the 23rd keeps the clean theme going with a 5ft and 4ft south-west swell, offshore winds, but the energy drops a bit.

After that, we hit a real flat, poor stretch. From Friday the 24th through to the end of July, the surf drops off hard. Small, weak, and onshore winds. The 26th sees a jump in swell to 6ft, but it’s raining and onshore – just ugly. There’s a gap of about 6 days where it’s not worth paddling out.

Then we get a proper, long-range standout. The 31st of July morning brings a serious 12ft west-southwest swell with a 17 second period, light offshore breeze from the southeast, and combined energy of 6565. This is big, powerful, and clean – expert territory only. It’s a reef, so that long period groundswell will wrap in nicely, but it’ll be heavy. The morning of the 1st of August is even better: 12ft west-southwest swell, 16 second period, gentle offshore from the east, and the energy is a massive 12457. This is the best on offer in the whole run – proper, solid, clean reef waves for those who can handle it. The 2nd of August morning still has a 10ft swell with offshore winds, still good for experienced surfers.

So, the pick of the bunch is the 1st of August morning. It’s a long way out, so keep an eye on the charts, but if it comes together, that’s a day to remember. Wednesday the 22nd is the best call in the first week.

Rusty.

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