Duppys Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s take a proper look at what’s coming our way. We’ve got a single spot to focus on: Duppys. It’s a reef break, and it’s fairly consistent, but I gotta be straight with you – the next week and a half is looking pretty grim. We’ve got a long stretch of tiny, weak swell and steady winds, so don’t get your hopes up for a quick fix. The first real hint of something surfable doesn’t show up until Saturday the 19th of September, and even then, it’s very ordinary.

Starting with the water temp at Duppys: it’s sitting at 85°F with a +0.7°F anomaly, so pretty much normal for this time of year – nothing to write home about, just standard warm water.

The pattern from Monday the 7th through to Friday the 18th is a real flat spell. Swell heights are stuck between 0.7 ft and 4 ft, mostly from the NNE or N, with periods all over the place but mostly short to middling. The combined energy values are tiny – mostly double digits under 100, with a few like Tuesday the 8th morning hitting 252 (moderate) but that’s a 4 ft ENE windswell with a short period of 7 seconds, and the wind is cross-off at 19 mph. Not worth paddling out for. Most days the wind is a fresh breeze from the E or ENE, cross-off or offshore, but the swell is just too small and weak to do anything with. The wave comment is consistently “poor surf conditions” all the way through.

Now, Saturday the 19th of September morning is the first time we see a bit of a pulse. The swell bumps up to 2 ft from the N with an 11-second period, and the combined energy hits 128 (moderate). The wind is offshore from the E at 16 mph, described as moderate offshore and clean. The wave comment says “surfable waves but very ordinary conditions” – so it’s rideable, but nothing to get excited about. It’s a small, clean, weak wave. Sunday the 20th morning is similar: 1 ft from the NNE, 13-second period, 58 energy, offshore wind, again “surfable waves but very ordinary.”

Neither of these days is a standout. The swell is too small to really turn on a reef break like Duppys, and the energy is weak. For a spot that’s exposed to N swell with an optimum from N, that Sunday morning at least has the direction and period, but the size just isn’t there. Crowds are listed as “sometimes,” so you might not have it all to yourself, but honestly, it’s so small that most people won’t bother.

Bottom line: the best of a bad lot is Saturday the 19th and Sunday the 20th of September mornings. It’s small, clean, and ordinary. If you’re desperate for a paddle, go then, but don’t expect much. The rest of the 16-day window is a washout.

Rusty.

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