Zoo (Bull Bay) Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s get straight into it for the Bull Bay area, specifically looking at Zoo. It’s a reef break that’s fairly consistent, and it needs swell from the SSE to really light up. The water temp is about average for this time of year, nothing too wild.

Looking at the whole 16-day run, it’s a bit of a struggle to be honest. There’s no real standout session in the first week because the wind is hammering us from the ESE, blowing cross-onshore pretty much every day. That’s keeping things choppy and messy.

For Thursday morning the 16th, we’ve got a 7ft swell from the ESE, but that cross-on breeze at 9 mph is killing the quality – it’s just a choppy, poor surf scene. Thursday afternoon and Friday are more of the same: 7ft to 8ft swell, but the wind stays cross-onshore, keeping it ugly.

The only glimmer of something rideable comes late on Sunday morning the 19th. The swell drops a bit to 7ft from the ESE, but the wind backs off to a light breeze at 6 mph. It’s still cross-onshore, but the energy is up at (1091) – that’s moderate to strong energy – and the conditions are just marginal. We might get a few wobbly ones before the wind picks up again. Monday through Wednesday the 22nd sees the swell fade to around 4ft, and the wind is still not kind.

There’s a little hope for Thursday morning the 23rd with a 4ft ESE swell and lighter winds, but the period is down to 7 seconds. That’s short-period, weak stuff (171) – not much push behind it. Nothing inspiring.

Then we hit a real dry spell. From Thursday afternoon the 23rd all the way through to Wednesday the 30th, it’s almost all poor conditions with cross-onshore winds and choppy seas. The swell tries to kick back up a couple of times, like Saturday the 25th with 7ft and Sunday the 26th with 6ft, but the wind just ruins it every time.

The one that almost gets interesting is Thursday the 30th early morning. We see a 7ft ESE swell pumping in with strong energy (1111), and a light breeze at just 6 mph. It’s still cross-onshore, but the wind is light enough that it might just be messy rather than completely blown out. It’s labeled marginal, so don’t expect perfection. This is the closest we get to a standout, but I can’t call it a true winner.

Friday the 31st early morning gives us another chance: 7ft ESE swell, even more energy (1166) and again that light 6 mph breeze. Same story – marginal, cross-onshore, but it’s your best bet of the whole run.

If you’re an intermediate wanting to scratch an itch, your best window is the 30th and 31st early mornings. Don’t expect anything clean or glassy. The crowds at Zoo can be an issue sometimes, but with conditions like this, it might be quiet.

Rusty.

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