Fort Fisher Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Grab a coffee and settle in. Rusty here.

Let's be straight with you: Fort Fisher is gonna be a quiet one for a stretch. For the first week or so, we’ve got ankle-snappers and knee-high mush. The swell energy is weak, barely hitting the double digits at times (13). It's that short-period, local windswill from the southeast, and with the wind flipping around from cross-off to onshore at times, there’s just nothing to get excited about. You’ll see a few clean windows – like Saturday morning and Monday morning with that light breeze – but 1 foot of SE slop is just not gonna get you out of bed. Even on Sunday the 23rd afternoon when it goes glassy, it’s only 0.7 feet. Dead flat.

There’s a real gap here. From now until about the 27th of August, you’re basically looking at a long stretch of poor to non-existent surf. Don't bother paddling out unless you just want to sit on your board and watch the sunset.

Then there’s a flicker of life. The 27th of August, Thursday morning, we finally see some energy jump up. A 3 foot swell from the southeast, but more importantly, the period stretches to 10 seconds and the combined energy bumps to a moderate 159. It’s nothing huge, but it’s a real step up. The wind is light and cross-offshore out of the southwest, so things will be clean. The call is still “ordinary”, but this is the first pulse of hope. It's a bank saver, not a headline act.

The real standout, the one that has my attention, is the 28th of August, Friday afternoon. That’s the best on offer. We get a 3 foot swell from the east-southeast, but the period is a nice, long 11 seconds. That’s groundswell character. The combined energy jumps to 250 – solid moderate power. The wind is light cross-offshore. This is the combo you want at a spot like Fort Fisher: clean conditions with a longer-period swell that should wrap in and offer up some proper shape. It won’t be giant, but it will be the most fun wave of the whole run. It's still a beach and reef setup, and with that longer period, it might break a bit straight on the beach sections, but the reefs should handle it well. This is the session to target.

Saturday the 29th morning keeps the hope alive – a 4 foot pulse from the east, but with a short period of 6 seconds. That’s going to be lumpy and fat, but the energy is moderate (176) and the wind is clean. It’ll be surfable, just not as good as the day before.

So to wrap it up: a flat start, a long wait, then a promising Friday afternoon on the 28th. Don't hold your breath for the first two weeks, but keep that Thursday and Friday in the back of your mind. The long-range window is the one to watch.

Stay stoked.
— Rusty

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