Fernandina Beach Pier Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, it’s Rusty here, and I gotta be straight with you – if you’re looking for a proper session, this stretch of coast is having a pretty flat spell. We’re looking at Fernandina Beach Pier for the next couple weeks, and to put it bluntly, the ocean’s taking a nap. There’s nothing that jumps out as a standout in this outlook, with the whole 16-day forecast showing only minimal wave energy and poor conditions. The first real sniff of anything remotely surfable doesn't even show up until Tuesday the 21st of July, and even then, it’s just ‘surfable but ordinary.’ The rest is a long stretch of tiny, weak, poor surf – you’d be better off taking the board for a walk on the sand.

The water temperature is about average for this time of year, nothing unusual to report there.

We start with a real flat spell. From Tuesday the 14th right through to Monday the 20th, we’ve got tiny 0.7 ft to 1 ft swell, mostly from the SE and ESE with short periods around 8-9 seconds. The combined energy is weak, barely cracking 20 or 30. Winds will be clean and offshore at times, especially in the mornings, but with swell that small, it’s essentially a lake. There's nothing to get excited about.

Then on Tuesday the 21st of July, things finally stagger to life. The morning is still tiny at 1.0 ft, but the afternoon brings a 4 ft swell from the SE with a 5-second period. The combined energy bumps up a bit to 59, and with a cross-offshore breeze from the SSW, it cleans up. They call it “surfable but very ordinary” – and that’s the truth. It’s weak, short-period windswell, and it’s going to be gutless. Not worth rushing for.

Another little bump shows up on Monday the 27th of July. The morning sees a 2 ft swell from the E with a 9-second period and clean winds from the SSW. The combined energy is weak at 57. It’s another “surfable but very ordinary” call – still small, but if you’re really jonesing for a longboard paddle, you might find a knee-high wave that walls up.

The best of a bad lot is probably that Tuesday the 21st afternoon session. It’s the only time we crack 3 ft and get clean-ish conditions. Still, with a 5-second period and that direction being off the optimum NE, the shape is going to be poor, fat, and bumpy. For a beach/pier setup like this, you need better period and swell direction to get any sort of rake. Honestly, with the poor quality and that small, short-period windswell, the whole setup looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing. There’s simply no swell power (combined energy is just 59) to push a proper wave.

After that, we tail off again into tiny grovelers and onshore chop. A few mornings have clean winds, but the swell is 1 ft or less. The 28th of July Tuesday morning goes glassy, with 2 ft and a calm wind, but it’s still just knee-high slop. So, overall, a pretty blank run. Keep your board in the car, but don’t get your hopes up.

- Rusty

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