Windmills Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s on offer for our local stretch.

Honestly, looking at the whole 16-day window, it’s a pretty grim picture. We’ve got a long stretch of poor surf ahead, with almost nothing worth paddling out for. The first proper recommendation doesn’t even show up until the end of the period, so we’re looking at a big gap of over a week with no real action.

The only spot that gets a mention at all is Windmills, a reef break for advanced surfers. It’s fairly consistent and fairly exposed, but the wind and swell just aren’t playing ball. The water temperature is sitting at 79°F, which is pretty much bang on average for this time of year.

From Wednesday the 29th of July right through to about the 12th of August, the story is the same: poor surf conditions. The wind is mostly a cross or cross-off from the ENE, often blowing a fresh breeze of 19 mph or more, which is trashing any chance of clean waves. The swell is a mix of short-period, wind-affected junk, mostly between 2 ft and 7 ft, with energies ranging from weak (138) up to moderate (524) but the quality is just not there. It’s a real write-off.

The first faint glimmer of something different comes on the morning of Tuesday the 11th of August. The wind swings to cross-off from the E at 19 mph, which cleans it up a bit, but the swell is only 4 ft from the NE with a short period of 8 seconds. The combined energy is moderate (298), but it’s still a poor surf call. By the afternoon of that day, the swell direction swings to the west with a 13-second period, but it’s tiny at 2 ft.

Then on Wednesday the 12th of August, we get a tiny 2 ft west swell with a 12-second period, but the wind is cross-shore again. The afternoon cleans up with a cross-off wind, but the waves are still tiny. The combined energy is weak (158).

The standout? Honestly, there isn’t a true standout in this whole forecast. The best we can say is that the afternoon of Tuesday the 11th of August offers a clean-ish window with a 2 ft west swell, and the cross-off wind might make it rideable for a longboard. But it’s not a day to get excited about. The energy is weak (183), and the surf is poor.

Bottom line: put the board away for the next week and a half. This is a blank run for the area; it’s just one of those spells.

Rusty.

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