Dahomey Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, this is Rusty. Let’s get into it.

Right off the bat, I gotta be straight with you: the next 16 days at Dahomey are looking pretty bleak for surf. We’ve got a long stretch of flat or near-flat conditions with hardly anything worth paddling out for. There’s a big gap from now all the way through to mid-July where the swell is just too small and the wind is mostly junk. For a spot that’s “fairly exposed” to the north-west, we just aren’t seeing any proper swell lines coming through.

The first real sniff of something happens on the morning of Friday, July 3rd. We’ve got a 3 ft NW groundswell rolling in with a long 9-second period, and the combined wave energy is moderate (207). The wind is glassy from the west at just 3 mph, so it’ll be clean. The water temp is sitting at 74°, which is a touch warmer than normal for this time of year. This is the best we’re going to see all period, but honestly, the waves are described as “surfable but very ordinary” – not a standout. After that, things fall apart. By Friday afternoon, the wind swings to a cross-onshore 9 mph from the north, ruining the surface. From Saturday, July 4th, right through to Friday, July 17th, it’s a grim run of tiny swell (0.6 ft – 3 ft), poor surf quality, and mostly onshore or cross-onshore winds. The energy readings are mostly pathetic, with single or double-digit values. Not worth the drive.

For beginners, there’s nothing here over 2 ft after that first morning, and even that 3 ft is just about at the limit for a learner.

Then we get to Saturday, July 18th – the wildcard. We see a pulse of 4 ft NW swell, with a moderate energy reading (281) in the morning and (256) in the afternoon. That’s the biggest swell of the whole outlook. But – and it’s a big but – the wind is messy. On Saturday morning, it’s a cross-shore 9 mph from the NNE, and by the afternoon, it’s up to 16 mph from the north, still cross-shore. The models are calling the surf conditions “poor,” despite the size, because of that chop. With the period dropping to 8 seconds, it’s not a clean groundswell. Given the consistent onshore/cross-onshore pattern, this is looking more like a kite-surfing setup than a clean paddle-surf day. For experts, the 4 ft is small enough to be surfable, but the quality just isn’t there.

Crowds at Dahomey are noted as “sometimes,” so on that Saturday, if the wind cleans up unexpectedly, there might be a few locals out, but don’t bank on it.

In summary: Friday morning July 3rd is your only real chance for a clean, glassy session, and it’s very ordinary. The rest is a 15-day blank run. Things can change, but right now, it’s a tough outlook.

Stay hungry, Rusty.

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