Bob Hall Pier Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let's get straight into it. We're looking at a tough stretch for the local surf scene. The forecast shows a real dry spell, with no decent waves on the menu for a good long while.

We kick off from July 5th, and honestly, the first week is a write-off. For ten straight days, through to the 14th, we've got nothing but small, weak, and messy conditions. The swell is tiny, the period is short, and the wind is almost always a cross-onshore breeze messing things up. The combined energy barely scratches 100 for most of that time, often sitting in the 20s and 30s – that’s next to nothing (28). It's a beginner's playground at best, and even then, it's choppy. For a spot like Bob Hall Pier, which is a beach/pier setup, it’s just not doing anything. The water temp is about average for this time of year, which is fine, but there's no power behind it.

Now, things start to look a little more promising into the second week. On Saturday, July 11th, during the afternoon, we finally see some size bump up to 6 ft from the SE, and the combined energy jumps to a moderate 287. But – and it's a big but – that's still blowing in with a 16 mph cross-onshore wind, making it a bumpy, lumpy mess. The period is still short at 6 seconds, so it's all wind chop.

The real standout, if you can call it that, looks like Monday, July 13th. The morning session has a solid 6 ft swell from the SE, with a combined energy of 318 (moderate power). The wind is a light 6 mph cross-onshore. It’s still not perfect, but it’s the least messy we’ve seen all week. The swell period is only 7 seconds, so it's not a proper groundswell, but there’s enough push to get into something. It's still not clean, just less dirty.

Honestly, the only time things get close to decent is around Tuesday, July 14th. The morning shows 4 ft from the SE, with the wind dropping to a near-calm 3 mph. That’s a light cross-onshore breeze. The period creeps up to 8 seconds and the energy is a moderate 200. The report even calls it "marginal" instead of "poor," which is as good as it gets in this run. It's the best chance for a surfable wave, but it's still a far cry from good.

After that, from Wednesday the 15th onward, the size drops right back off and the wind picks up again, taking us back to small, choppy conditions all the way to the end of the forecast on July 20th. There's a brief spike on Sunday the 19th with 6 ft swell, but it's under a 22 mph cross-onshore wind – that's a full-on kite-surfing kind of day, not a paddle-surfing one.

So the bottom line: there's over a week of nothing, then a short window around July 13-14 with some moderate, lumpy swell. It's not going to be clean, but if you're desperate, Tuesday the 14th in the morning is your best, and really only, bet. Forecasts can change, so don't give up hope entirely.

- Rusty

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