Big Ben Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, let’s talk about Big Ben. It’s a beach/jetty setup that’s exposed but inconsistent, and it doesn’t always fire. The next 16 days are a bit of a mixed bag – we’ve got one clear window of clean surf, then a whole lot of nothing special. The water temp is sitting at 77°F with a near‑normal anomaly, so nothing wild there.

The only real standout in this entire forecast lands on Tuesday morning, July 14. We’ve got a 3‑ft SSW swell rolling in with an 11‑second period – that’s a decent groundswell, but it’s coming from a direction that’s not the best for Big Ben (optimum is SE). Still, the wind is glassy out of the SSE at 3 mph, so the surface will be clean and smooth. The combined energy is moderate at 240, and with that light wind, it’s your best shot. After that, the afternoon turns cross‑shore and the swell drops a bit, so that morning is the one to hit.

From Tuesday afternoon all the way through the rest of the forecast, conditions go downhill fast. Winds shift onshore or cross‑onshore, swells stay small (mostly 2 to 4 ft), and the energy never really gets strong. There are a few mornings with marginal conditions – like Thursday July 16 with a clean cross‑offshore wind and 2 ft, or Friday July 17 with 4 ft but cross‑shore winds – but none of them are worth getting excited about. The inconsistency of the break means you’d be gambling on a lucky set.

The second week doesn’t bring any relief either. From July 20 onward, we see a few days with 3 to 4 ft swell, but the wind is always cross‑shore or onshore, and the periods are short (8–10 seconds). The energy stays moderate (100–350 range). Then on July 27 and 28, we get some longer‑period SSE swell (11–13 seconds), but the wind is straight onshore, so it’s choppy and messy. The last day, July 29, actually has a very long 19‑second groundswell coming from the ESE with combined energy of 593 – that’s a solid pulse. But the wind is cross‑onshore at 12 mph, so it’ll be blown out. For a beach break, that long period tends to make the waves close out anyway, and with the wind, it’s not a goer.

So, to put it simply: Tuesday morning, July 14, is your best bet. After that, you’re looking at a long stretch of mediocrity. The crowds are listed as “sometimes”, so you might have a few others out, but with the conditions, it’ll be quiet. Keep an eye on the wind forecasts – if anything changes, there could be a surprise, but as it stands, it’s a one‑day show.

– Rusty

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