Wonthaggi Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s on the cards for us over the next couple of weeks.

To be straight with you, the surf window is going to be a bit of a mixed bag. We’re looking at a long stretch of messy, blown-out conditions before we might see a glimmer of something special right at the very end. The swell is going to pump at times, but the wind is the real issue here.

The first real standout, and I mean the *only* proper standout across the whole 16-day run, looks to be Wonthaggi itself. Saturday the 18th of July is your best bet. We’ve got a solid 6ft swell pushing in from the WSW, and the wind is forecast to drop right off in the afternoon, going glassy with a light W breeze at 3 mph. That’s the kind of afternoon you wait for. The water is about average for the time of year, nothing unusual there. The combined energy is very strong (1018), so there’ll be plenty of push. It’s a fairly exposed spot, so it’ll handle that swell, but keep in mind it’s an inconsistent break, so you’ll need a bit of patience between sets. The morning is worth a look too with a 6ft swell and a light cross-shore, but that afternoon glass is the real deal.

After that, the wind turns nasty. From Sunday the 19th, it’s a downward spiral. We get a few cleaner moments on Sunday morning with a 4ft WSW swell and light cross-offshore winds, but the swell is dropping. By Monday the 20th, the wind picks up from the NNW at 12 mph and it’s all over. We get a long run of poor surf conditions right through to the end of the month. The swell gets big, hitting 10ft on the 28th of July, but with brutal cross-onshore winds and massive combined energy (4590), it’s just a mess – more for the kite crew than a paddle surfer.

There is a tease right at the very end. Friday the 31st of July through to Saturday the 1st of August sees a massive swell – 13ft to 16ft – but it’s simply too big for this break. The winds are actually favorable, with light offshore and clean conditions, but the forecast says the swell is predicted to be too big. For the experts out there, maybe a look on the 1st of August morning when the swell has dropped to 15ft and the wind is a clean cross-off at 12 mph, but it’s a long shot and a dangerous one. The combined energy is monstrous (5037). Sunday the 2nd of August looks a bit more manageable, with a 8ft SW swell and clean cross-off winds, but we’re so far out that you’ll want to check back in on that.

So, the bottom line: get out there on Saturday the 18th of July afternoon for the cleanest, glassiest conditions. The rest of the fortnight is a write-off until the very end, and even then, it’s for the brave and the big-wave specialists only.

Rusty.

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