Widemouth Bay Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, I’m Rusty, and I’ve been watchin’ this stretch of coast for longer than I care to remember. Let’s be straight with you: the next sixteen days are a bit of a drought for any decent surf. There’s not a single recommendation worth paddlin’ out for, so temper your expectations. But don’t let that get you down – this area can be fickle, and a blank run like this is more normal than you’d think. The sea’s just takin’ a breather.

We start off with Widemouth Bay (a beach and reef setup) on Sunday the 19th of July. The water temp’s about average for the time of year, no big anomaly to speak of. The swell’s tiny – 2 ft from the NNW with a short period of 5 seconds, and the combined energy is a weak 19. Winds are a light SSE cross-off, so the surface is clean, but there’s just no push. It’s poor surf all through Sunday and Monday, with swell droppin’ to 1 ft and periods barely breakin’ 4 seconds. Monday morning the 20th goes glassy with a NE breeze at 3 mph, but it’s still a puddle. No standouts here.

The rest of the week stays flat. Tuesday the 21st has a long-period 10-second swell from the west, but it’s only 1.0 ft – energy’s a meagre 31. The wind’s cross-off on the morning but ramps up to a 16 mph cross in the arvo. Wednesday the 22nd barely nudges 3 ft from the NNW (period 5 seconds), but it’s cross-shore and choppy. Thursday the 23rd is more of the same. By Friday the 24th, the swell flatlines to 0.7 ft from the west, with a period of 8 seconds – energy’s down to 9. Onshore winds make it a total write-off.

The weekend of the 26th and 27th sees a slight lift: Sunday the 26th has 3 ft from the WNW (period 6 seconds, energy 69), but it’s blown out by a 16 mph onshore wind. Monday arvo the 27th bumps up to 3 ft from the west with a period of 9 seconds, energy climbin’ to 132 – moderate for this spot – but it’s cross-onshore and choppy. Still no good.

Tuesday the 28th of July is the biggest swell in the window: 5 ft from the NNW, period 7 seconds, and energy jumps to 422 (strong). But that’s where it gets tricky. The wind’s cross-onshore from the NW at 9 mph in the morning, then W’ly at 12 mph in the arvo, bringin’ chop. At 5 ft, it’s gettin’ too big for beginners, and the period’s short, meanin’ lumpy, disorganised waves. The beach-and-reef setup here is more interesting for kite surfers than paddle surfers in those conditions. Not a standout.

The rest of the run fades: Wednesday the 29th drops to 3 ft, Thursday the 30th to 2 ft, and Friday the 31st brings a weird ESE cross-off at 25 mph, but the swell is only 3 ft with a short 6-second period – energy’s 83, but the wind’s too strong for clean surf. Into August, the first weekend has 3 ft to 4 ft from the west with periods of 9 seconds, but onshore winds keep it lumpy and poor.

So, to sum it up: there’s no real standout in this sixteen-day forecast. The best of a bad bunch is Tuesday the 28th, with that 5 ft swell, but the wind and chop ruin it. You’d be better off savin’ your energy for a better run. Fingers crossed the forecasts change, because it doesn’t usually stay this quiet for long.

Rusty

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