Spot Kontiki • Statistics for July

July: The Cruelest Month: Big Swell, Relentless Onshores

July is the heart of the Southern Hemisphere winter. The average swell remains at around 6ft (1.9m) with a 12.8s period, slightly shorter than late autumn but still comfortably in the powerful long-period class. The S component reaches 18%, while SSW is 70%, leaving only 4% from the preferred SW direction. These southerly swells are often highly directional and can be shadowed by Kontiki's WSW-oriented sandbar, so actual wave quality at the beach may be far below what the open-ocean stats suggest. The wind statistics are sobering: S and SSW winds total 78%, with 18% of all SSW winds blowing at 10-20kph, and ideal offshore wind only 5% of the time. Surface conditions are frequently messy. If you are hunting a clean day in July, you need a strong continental high to the east to push a light E/ESE flow onto the coast. With 15.9°C water and 16.9°C air, patience is essential.