Fort Fisher Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here, looking at the 16-day outlook for Fort Fisher. Honestly, it’s a rough read. There’s no real green light in the whole run. The forecast is a long, quiet stretch of tiny, weak swell and mostly messy wind. You’re gonna need a lot of patience.

The water is running at 83°F, which is pretty normal for this time of year, so nothing weird there. The first little window comes Tuesday morning, the 18th of August. You’ve got a tiny 1ft swell from the SE, with a 12-second period. The combined energy is weak (62). The wind is light from the WSW, giving you a clean cross-off, so the surface will be nice. But it’s so small and weak, it’s just a longboard float. Not a standout.

That window shuts fast. Tuesday afternoon turns into a cross-shore mess with 12 mph winds, and it’s all downhill. For the next week and a half, you’re looking at a string of poor conditions. The swell barely moves, stuck between 0.7ft and 2ft, and the wind is either onshore, cross, or just too strong. The combined energy numbers are tiny, mostly in the teens and twenties, never breaking into the hundreds. You’ll see a few mornings with glassy or clean conditions, like Saturday the 22nd with a glassy 1ft, but there’s no push. It’s flat.

The only flicker of something different comes around Thursday the 27th of August. The swell picks up slightly to 2ft from the ESE, and the period stretches to 13 seconds. The combined energy hits 141, which is at least moderate—still small, but there’s some life. The wind is cross-off from the SSW, so the waves will be clean. But it’s still tiny, and it’s only just surfable. Not a session worth driving for.

The best on offer, if you can call it that, is the morning of Saturday the 29th of August. We’ve got 2ft of ESE swell, period around 10 seconds, and combined energy of 103 (moderate). The wind is light from the SSW, making it a clean cross-off. It’s the biggest, cleanest moment in the whole run, but it’s still ankle-to-knee high. For a more experienced surfer, it’s barely worth a look. For a beginner, it’s safe, but there’s nothing to catch.

The break itself, Fort Fisher, is a beach and reef setup that’s inconsistent and rarely breaks. The swell is coming from the SE and ESE, which is not the optimum NE direction for this spot. The crowd can be around often, but with this lack of wave, you’ll have the place to yourself.

The long gap is brutal. There’s nothing worth getting excited about from the 18th of August right through to the end of the forecast. The second week offers a few mornings with clean conditions and a tiny bump, but nothing changes the overall picture. It’s a flat spell.

For kite surfing, the afternoon winds on the 26th of August, with a fresh 19 mph cross-off, would be a lot more interesting than paddling. But for the stick, it’s a long wait.

Rusty.

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