Ditch Plains Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s be straight with you. This outlook for Ditch Plains is a real heartbreaker. We’re looking at a 16-day stretch where the surf just doesn’t want to line up. There’s going to be a long, frustrating gap at the start. We don’t see a proper wave until Tuesday morning, and even that’s a marginal one. If you’re not flexible with your schedule, you might be better off doing something else.

The main issue is that we have some background south swell, but it’s weak and short-period, and the wind is just all over the place. The water is 69.6°, which is a bit colder than normal for this time of year – not a huge deal, but you’ll want the right rubber on.

There are a couple of brief windows where the wind goes light and offshore, giving us a chance at a clean, albeit small, wave. Tuesday morning, August 4th, is our first real look. The wind is glassy with a slight air from the NNW, and we have 3.9ft of south swell at 8 seconds. The combined energy is weak at 221. It’s not going to be epic, but it’ll be clean and the best we’ve seen all week. This is your chance if you’re jonesing for a paddle.

After that, Wednesday and Thursday mornings have a bit of swell, but the wind is either cross-off or just plain cross, and the period has dropped to 7 seconds. The energy is weak, and the surf just looks messy. We’ve got a lot of afternoons with onshore breezes and increasing chop, which just ruins things.

The second week is looking even bleaker. We’re looking at a long stretch of tiny, inconsistent, and poor surf. The energy readings drop to double digits, and we’re seeing a lot of 1.6ft waves with 6-second periods. There is a brief moment on Tuesday morning, August 11th, where it’s glassy with 2.3ft of swell, but it’s still very weak. It’s surfable, but only just.

Frankly, the standout chest-high surf we’re all hoping for just isn’t in the cards. The best of what we have is that Tuesday morning, August 4th, with the clean 3.9ft south swell. That’s your pick. Everything else is a write-off of crossed-up, short-period junk. For a spot that’s exposed to this swell, it’s just not delivering. We’ll see a lot of close-outs and wonky peaks, and some of these bigger, windier afternoons might look more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing. Be patient, keep the board waxed, and maybe check back after the 18th. This stretch is a crook, but it won’t last forever.

Read more