Fort Fisher Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s on the cards for our local stretch.

Honestly, we’ve got a bit of a flat spell on our hands. Looking right through the next two and a half weeks, there’s nothing that shapes up as a proper session. The good news is, we’ll see some tiny little bumps, but nothing that’s going to get the heart racing.

Starting off from Friday the 7th of August, the surf is just dribbling in at around 2ft from the southeast. It’s got a short period of 7 to 8 seconds, so the energy is weak, and there’s no punch to it. The wind is mostly cross or cross-off, keeping it clean enough, but the swell is just too small and weak to bother paddling out for. Water temp is sitting at 82°, which is about normal for this time of year.

That same pattern just continues. Through Saturday the 8th, Sunday the 9th, and into the week, we’re stuck with the same story. Swell sizes stay below 3ft, periods hover around 6 to 9 seconds, and the energy readings drop off even more – down into the single digits by the middle of the week. Winds stay clean from the west or southwest at times, but with waves barely breaking, it doesn’t matter much. Monday the 10th and Tuesday the 11th are particularly grim, with swells dropping to less than 1ft.

There’s a little spike in combined energy around Wednesday the 19th of August. For the afternoon, we see a pulse from the southeast showing around 2ft but with a much longer period of 12 seconds, and the combined energy jumps – the highest in the whole outlook. That’s a proper groundswell signal, and the wind is cross-off from the SSW, making it clean. But it’s still only a foot and a half, so for most of us, it’s just a nice-looking bump. That’s the standout of the whole forecast, even if it’s not a standout by any normal standard.

Beyond that, into the 20th and 22nd of August, we see the swell trying to push up to 2ft to 3ft again, with periods around 8 seconds. The wind stays cross-off, but it’s still very small and won’t offer much for a proper surf. At Fort Fisher (a beach and reef setup), with these tiny, weak swells, there’s just not enough push to get a decent ride.

So, overall, it’s a pretty lean 16 days. If you’re desperate for a paddle and some clean water, the afternoon of the 19th of August is the most interesting, with that long-period pulse and clean wind, but keep the expectations low. This is one of those typical quiet runs for this area – it doesn’t stay poor forever, but right now it’s a waiting game.

Rusty.

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