Wollongong South Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here.

Let’s talk about Wollongong South Beach for the next couple of weeks. There’s a tiny window of decent surf early on, then a flat spell, before a gigantic pulse of swell hits that’s only for the hardcore.

Wednesday morning the 22nd is your best early option. At Wollongong South Beach (Wollongong), the swell is a clean 3 ft from the east-northeast, with a period of 10 seconds – that’s a proper groundswell with some shape. The wind is light westerly and cross-offshore, so the surface is glassy. The water temp is 65°, which is about average for this time of year. The combined energy is 204 (moderate energy), so there’s a good push behind it. Expect good surf conditions – this is the highlight of the whole outlook. Crowds are listed as “sometimes,” so you might see a few others, but a Wednesday should be quiet enough.

That afternoon the swell drops and the conditions become ordinary. Then from Thursday the 23rd through to Tuesday the 29th, it’s a bleak stretch. Swell drops to under 3 ft, often less than 1 ft, and even though the wind is light or offshore in the mornings, there’s just no wave energy. Combined energy readings mostly in the single or low double digits (weak energy). A few mornings are glassy, but with waves only 0.3 ft to 1 ft, it’s flat. That’s a solid week of nothing.

Thursday the 30th of July sees some swell returning, but with onshore wind and short period, it’s poor. Friday the 31st builds to 4 ft to 5 ft, but with a 6-second period and cross-onshore wind, it’s choppy and messy. Saturday the 1st of August hits 6 ft, but again short period and cross-shore winds – sloppy.

Now the second week gets interesting. From Sunday the 2nd of August, winds go offshore and the swell cleans up, but it’s only around 3 ft. Monday the 3rd of August morning gives you a clean 2 ft swell from the southeast with a 14-second period, light offshore westerly wind, and clean conditions. The combined energy is 225 (moderate energy). That’s a good window, but it’s short-lived as the wind turns onshore in the afternoon.

Then the big one – from Tuesday the 4th of August afternoon, a massive southerly swell arrives. A 16 ft swell with a 14-second period, and combined energy of 9375 (very strong wave energy). The wind is light and cross-offshore, so it’ll be clean. But this is huge – over 8 ft, so experts only. It continues into Wednesday the 5th (16 ft to 18 ft), and Thursday the 6th (15 ft to 12 ft), all with favorable offshore winds. This is a big groundswell, and at a beach break, those long-period southerly swells can break a bit straight, but with that size and clean wind, the sandbars could offer some serious waves. Only for those who know what they’re doing.

So your best bet: Wednesday morning the 22nd for clean, solid waves. For the experts, Tuesday the 4th of August through Thursday the 6th is a massive, clean swell – but it’s not for the faint of heart.

Rusty.

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