Fort Fisher Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let’s take a long hard look at what’s on the cards for Fort Fisher over the next couple of weeks.

Honestly, friend, I gotta level with you: it’s a grim stretch. Flat spells are one thing, but this is a persistent run of tiny, weak, and messy surf that’s gonna test your patience. There’s barely a ripple worth getting wet for. The first real glimmer of anything doesn’t even show up until Wednesday the 19th of August, and even that’s "surfable but ordinary". We’re talking about a long gap of nearly a week of nothing but small, poor surf conditions from the 12th right through to the 19th. It’s a slow burn.

The combined swell energy is weak for almost the entire outlook, with most days sitting in the low double digits (like 12 to 56), barely mustering a pulse.

Now, I’ve got to point out the one morning that stands out from the rest, even if it’s not a world-beater. On Wednesday the 19th of August, early, it’s glassy. That’s the first time we see real glass. The swell ticks up to 2 ft from the SE with an 11-second period, and the combined wave energy finally breaks triple digits (126). That’s the best we get. The wind is light offshore from the NW, for a moment it’ll be clean and maybe even fun on a longboard. But don’t kid yourself—it’s still a small, short-ish period swell that won’t offer much push.

Nothing else comes close to that window. Anything past that is back to the 1 ft range, wind-affected, or just bad. There’s a bump on the 27th of August (Thursday) with 4 ft coming out of the ENE, but the period is a short, choppy 6 seconds. That’s just a messy, blown-out lump. That late August day might look interesting for the kite guys, but for a paddle surfer, it’s not worth the effort.

For the dedicated souls, the Wednesday the 19th morning is the only window with even a whiff of quality. The rest of the 16 days is a write-off. Glassy conditions and a bit of SE swell is as good as it gets. Suck it up or pick up a book.

Rusty.

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