Fernandina Beach Pier Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Hey folks, Rusty here. Let's run through what we've got for Fernandina Beach Pier.

Gotta be honest, the first week and a half is pretty grim. We're talking tiny waves with energy levels stuck in the low double digits (10 to 63 for most of it). Wave heights are barely hitting 0.7ft to 2ft, and the period is often short and choppy. The wind is clean some mornings with a light offshore, but there's just no power. There isn't a single session worth chasing until the back half of the month.

The first real chance of a surf comes on Monday, August 19th. The afternoon of Tuesday the 18th shows a jump in energy (246) with a long 15-second E swell, but it's messy with cross-onshore wind. But Wednesday morning, the 19th, it goes glassy calm with the energy at 177. The swell is still small, about 2ft from the east with a 12-second period. The report calls it ordinary, but that flat, glassy water is a big win for the cleanest waves we've seen. If you want a slow, slippery session on a log, that's your best bet. The afternoon gets choppy.

After that, it's back to dribble until the very end. The best looking morning is Tuesday, August 26th. We get a clean offshore wind from the west, but the swell is only 0.7ft east-southeast with a 10-second period. The energy is tiny (12) and it's still poor surf, but it's the cleanest it'll be all week. There's just no size at all.

For a beach break like this, short-period swell from the SE won't hold any real shape. The entire 16-day window is a tough beat for paddle surfing. The energy is almost always weak, under 100, and it rarely hits knee-high. The one moderate pulse of energy (246 to 532) comes with poor, onshore wind. For most of this run, with such tiny, weak surf and frequent cross-onshore breezes, the setup at this exposed beach looks way better for kite surfing than for us. Stick with it, forecasts can always turn.

- Rusty

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