Croatan Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, this is Rusty. Let's look at what we've got coming up for Croatan over the next couple of weeks.

Honestly, I'm looking at this forecast and it's a bit of a tough one to get excited about. The whole 16-day window is pretty flat and underwhelming. There's a big gap of nothing worthwhile from the start until mid-July. We're looking at a solid 6 days of tiny, poor surf that won't get a recommendation from me. The first flicker of something that's even *surfable* doesn't show up until the morning of the 15th of July.

That morning, Wednesday the 15th, is the closest thing to a highlight, and it's a real marginal one. Croatan will see a tiny 2ft wave from the east, with a period of 8 seconds. The big thing here is that we get a clean 5 mph offshore wind from the west. The water is sitting at 79°, which is about average for the time of year. The energy is really weak, reading only 42. It's a small, clean wave for a beginner to mess around on. The crowds are marked as "often", so expect a few others out for the same small crumb. After that, it's straight back to poor conditions for the rest of the week.

The next real chance comes on Monday the 20th of July. The morning session looks best with a 4ft swell from the southeast, a 5-second period, and a clean 15 mph offshore wind from the WSW. The wave energy is still moderate at 71. It's a very ordinary setup, but it's the cleanest we're going to get with a bit of size. It's still small enough for beginners, but the short period will make it a bit lumpy. The afternoon sees the swell bump up to 5ft from the SE, with a 6-second period and a light cross-shore wind. The energy jumps to 142, but the conditions are poor and choppy.

The week of the 21st sees a bit more consistent energy, but the quality just isn't there. The morning of Tuesday the 22nd has a 4ft swell from the southeast with a clean cross-offshore wind, but even that only gets a "very ordinary" grade. The wind is always cross or onshore, or the swell is too small and short-period. It's not a good run for paddle surfing, to be honest. With those onshore winds and short-period, choppy waves, the setup looks more interesting for kite surfing than a traditional surf.

So, to sum it up: the best of a bad bunch is the morning of Wednesday the 15th for a tiny, clean beginner wave, and the morning of Monday the 20th for a slightly bigger but still very ordinary clean wave. Everything else is a write-off. I'm not holding my breath for this one.

Rusty.

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