Anna Maria Island Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, this is Rusty. Let's talk about what's on offer for the next couple of weeks.

Right off the bat, I gotta be real with you – it's a tough stretch. We're looking at a solid 16-day window, but the first surfable day isn't until the 29th of July, and even then, it's a struggle. The overall pattern is pretty flat and junked up. There's a lot of days where you're better off doing something else. The water is a touch warmer than normal for this time of year, sitting at 87°F, so you won't need a hood.

The only real spot in the game is Anna Maria Island. It's a beginner-friendly, inconsistent beach break that's exposed to the swell. The problem is, the swell that's coming in is mostly from the WSW, and the wind is almost always cross or cross-onshore, messing up what little bump there is. For the first week, from the 29th of July through to the 5th of August, it's just poor surf conditions. The wave energy is weak, mostly in the single digits. The swell is tiny, under 3ft, with a short, weak period around 4-5 seconds. It's choppy, messy, and not really worth paddling out for. The wind is a moderate breeze, 12-15 mph, and it's just not cooperating.

There is a tiny window of hope on the morning of the 4th of August. We get a gentle offshore breeze from the SE, and the water is clean. But the swell is only 0.7ft. It's a glassy lake. You could maybe catch something on a longboard, but it's a real effort for nothing.

Things get even more dire from the 5th of August onwards. We have a few days with zero swell at all. The energy is at 0. It's dead flat. There's a little ripple of 1ft from the SW on the 8th of August, but the wind is just a light cross-shore, so it's not going to clean up into anything rideable. The pattern continues through the second week, with tiny, weak swells and messy winds. The best you'll see is a clean morning on the 11th of August with a 1ft swell from the SSW, but the combined energy is only 12. It's a desperate longboard session at best.

Honestly, there's no standout session here. Nothing worth getting excited about. The setup is so small and weak, with the wind often onshore, that it looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing. The crowd profile at Anna Maria Island is "sometimes," so even if there was a wave, you wouldn't be alone. But there isn't. This is a blank run, and for an area like this, that's not unusual. Forecasts can change, but right now, it's a hard pass. Keep the boards in the car and wait for the next system.

Rusty.

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