Yonabaru Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, I’m Rusty, and I’ve been grinding through the charts for this stretch. Honestly, the next couple of weeks are a real letdown. There’s a long dry spell with nothing worth paddling out for until early August. The first real sign of life comes on the 3rd of August, but it’s still marginal. The one standout is the 7th of August, but it comes with a big warning.

Yonabaru is the only spot on the menu, and for the next week or more, it’s a total flat spell. From the 24th of July through the 2nd of August, the swell is tiny—mostly 0.7 ft to 2 ft from the ENE or ESE, with periods of 8 to 10 seconds. The combined energy barely hits 40 or 50, which is weak. Water temp is 85°F, which is about average for the time of year. The wind is often onshore or cross-onshore, keeping things messy. There’s a brief moment on the 29th and 30th of July where it goes glassy—dead calm on the 29th afternoon—but the swell is still a pathetic 1.0 ft. Not worth a paddle.

We then hit a total blank on the 2nd of August, with energy dropping to 2. That’s a hard zero.

Things start to stir on the morning of the 3rd of August. The swell bumps to 2 ft from the E at 11 seconds, with energy at 59. Still small, but the period is starting to lengthen. Wind is a light cross-onshore from the ENE, so it’s a bit bumpy. It’s still poor surf, but it’s a step up from nothing.

The 5th of August is where it gets interesting. Wednesday morning, the swell jumps to 2 ft from the ESE, but the period hits 17 seconds—that’s a long-period groundswell. Combined energy climbs to 356, which is moderate. The problem is the wind: cross-onshore from the ESE at 12 mph, making it choppy. By Wednesday afternoon, the swell is 3 ft from the same direction, period 16 seconds, energy climbing to 606. Still poor surf conditions, but the energy is building.

Now, the big one. The 7th of August (Friday) is the only event that even gets a marginal score. Morning session sees 8 ft of swell from the ESE, with a very long 18-second period. The combined energy is a massive 4423—strong energy. This is a serious groundswell. But, and it’s a big but, the wind is onshore from the ENE at 9 mph, and the conditions are still rated as marginal. The swell direction is ESE, which is a bit off the optimum NE for Yonabaru, but it’s still pushing in. For a beginner, 8 ft is too big—this is only for experts. And because it’s a long-period swell at a beach break, it’s going to close out and be tricky. The wind is onshore, so it’s not going to be clean. If you’re a seasoned local who knows the bank, it might be worth a look, but don’t expect perfection.

The 8th of August (Saturday) is even bigger—10 ft from the E at 18 seconds, energy over 6000—but the wind is howling onshore at 16 mph, and conditions are marked as poor. That’s a wild, blown-out mess. Honestly, for that kind of onshore wind and size, Yonabaru might be more interesting for the kite surfers than paddle surfers.

So, to sum it up: the best—and really only—standout is the morning of the 7th of August. It’s a big, powerful, long-period groundswell, but it’s not clean. If you’re an expert and you don’t mind a bit of onshore chop, that’s your window. Everything else in the 16-day window is flat or poor. It’s a tough run, but the energy is finally showing up at the end. Keep an eye on the wind forecasts, and maybe hope for a shift. Otherwise, it’s a waiting game.

Rusty.

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