Bud Bud Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, let me tell ya about Bud Bud. It’s been a tough stretch lately and honestly, the next couple of weeks are not going to give you much to get excited about. The water is sitting at 72°, which is a touch warmer than normal for this time of year, so that’s one small comfort if you’re just going for a float.

Right from the start on Monday the 20th of July, we’ve got nothing but tiny waves – 0.3 ft at best – and while the morning wind is a clean offshore from the Northeast at 19 mph, there’s just no swell to work with. That sets the tone for basically the entire first week. Through Tuesday and Wednesday, the swell stays around 0.3 ft to 0.7 ft off the West. The mornings have clean offshore breezes (ENE or NE), but it’s barely a ripple. The combined swell energy is almost laughable, sitting between 4 and 11. Thursday the 23rd and Friday the 24th are more of the same – tiny 0.7 ft or 0.3 ft bumps. Friday afternoon actually gets a bit of cross-onshore wind that messes up the surface, not that there was anything to ride anyway.

The weekend of the 25th and 26th sees a slight bump in height to 1 ft or 3 ft, but the wind switches to a strong cross-onshore from the WNW, gusting over 19 mph, so it’s lumpy and choppy. The swell direction is coming from the West-Northwest, which is not what Bud Bud’s optimum WSW direction wants to see. The energy climbs a little, getting into the teens and low twenties, but it’s still poor quality.

Monday the 27th of July is a bit of a tease. The morning has 3 ft swell, a period of 5 seconds, and a light cross-shore wind, but the energy is only 50. By the afternoon, the wind picks up and it’s back to being ugly.

Now, there’s a small window starting Tuesday the 28th of July. The morning cleans up nicely – light NNE breeze at 6 mph, cross-offshore, with 2 ft swell from the West at a 10-second period. That longer period will give it a bit more shape, and the energy is a moderate 78. But the wave comment still says “surfable but very ordinary,” and the score is low. Wednesday the 29th morning is similar – 2 ft, clean, but again, nothing special. These are the only mornings in the first two weeks that are even surfable.

The real standout, and the only one worth marking on your calendar, is Saturday the 1st of August. That morning, we get a solid 3 ft of groundswell from the West-Northwest, with a period of 9 seconds. The wind is light offshore from the East-Northeast at 6 mph, so it’ll be clean. The combined swell energy jumps to a strong 251, which is the highest in the whole forecast. This is the best surf on offer. It’s not huge, but for Bud Bud, with the right conditions, this is your day. The afternoon gets windy again, so get on it early.

After that, Sunday the 2nd of August morning goes glassy – zero wind – but the swell drops back to 2 ft, so it’s clean but tiny. The rest of that week into the 4th of August is mostly cross-onshore winds and messy onshore junk, with swell heights up to 4 ft but blown out and poor.

So, to put it simply: the first 12 days are a write-off for any decent surf. The only real chance is Saturday morning, the 1st of August. Set your alarm, because that’s the one.

Rusty.

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