Baldwin Beach Park Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, this is Rusty, and I gotta be straight with you – looking at the next 16 days for our local setup here, it's gonna be a grind. We got a few windows where it might be worth a paddle, but this ain't gonna be a run of glory days.

The pattern is pretty locked in with a steady ENE breeze, and that's the trouble. It's a cross-shore wind for most of the run, which is gonna keep the surface lumpy and messy. We start off with a bit of swell on August 14th, Friday, but with 15 mph cross-winds, that 7 ft ENE swell is just gonna be a battle. That wave energy is moderate at 568, but the combo of wind and chop makes it a full-on fight. The water temp is about average for this time of year, so that's one thing you don't have to worry about.

The weekend of the 15th and 16th is a write-off. The swell pushes up to 10 ft on Saturday, but with 22 mph winds and rain, that's just dangerous. On Sunday, the wind briefly shifts to a cross-offshore from the ESE at 12-19 mph, which cleans it up a bit. We get a 7 ft to 8 ft swell from the E, but the period is short at 8 seconds, so it's all close-out at Baldwin Beach Park (a reef and point setup). The energy is moderate (1082), but it still gets a marginal call. If you're a strong paddler, it might be worth a look on Sunday afternoon, but don't expect any gems.

After that, we hit a proper dry spell. From Monday the 17th right through until the end of the month, the swell drops and the wind just keeps coming from the east. The waves are small, under 5 ft, and the wind is cross or cross-on, keeping the ocean choppy. It's a solid two-week stretch of poor quality, with the wave energy dropping to weak numbers well under 200. The crowds are "often" here, but honestly, during this stretch, there's not much to crowd for.

The only glimmer on the horizon is way out there, on Thursday the 28th and Friday the 29th. The swell starts to build again, pushing 8 ft from the E on Friday morning with a longer 10-second period. The energy jumps back up to moderate (1082), and the wind is a cleaner 12 mph cross-shore. That's a long way off, so it's promising but not a lock. The break is a reef and point, so it should handle the swell direction better than a beach. Still, it's a week and a half away, so keep your fingers crossed.

For the best of a bad bunch, I'd say Sunday afternoon the 16th is the only window that offers a shot at something clean, but it's for the experienced crew with that 8 ft on offer. For the rest of us, it's a waiting game.

Rusty, signing off.

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