Fort Fisher Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s be straight with you – we’re in for a quiet stretch ahead, no sugarcoating it. Don’t be expecting any fireworks out of Fort Fisher for a while. The models are showing a whole lot of nothing for the next week or so, with only a small spike of energy that still won’t deliver the goods.

The first option to even check is a long way off. We’re looking at the morning of Saturday, July 18th as the first real shift. Before that, it’s days of tiny, messy, onshore slop. The water temp is sitting at 84°F with a 2°F anomaly – so slightly warmer than usual for this time of year, not a game-changer but comfortable. The wind is finally expected to clock offshore from the west early on Wednesday, July 23rd, but even then the wave height is only 2ft. There’s a persistent moderate cross-offshore wind from the SW and SSW through that whole last week of July, which is good for keeping things clean, but the swell just isn't there.

For a real standout, you’d have to pin your hopes on the afternoon of Saturday, July 19th. A 3ft swell from the ESE with a period of 6 seconds. It’s short-period stuff, so not much grunt, but it’s the only blip all month that breaks the mediocre ceiling. The combined swell energy (66) is weak. That midday window on the 19th with a light cross-onshore from the SSE will be the cleanest looking tiny peak you’ll find, but honestly, don't paddle out expecting much.

If you’re an experienced surfer, the morning of Saturday, July 18th *might* be the biggest thing we see. A 5ft swell from the east, period of only 5 seconds. That’s a sloppy, short-period wall of water. With a direct onshore wind from the east at 16 mph, it’s going to be a choppy, bumpy mess – honestly that setup looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing. If you’re a beginner, stay out of the water then; 5ft of short-period slop is rough for an intermediate, let alone a newcomer.

The last week of July is just clean but flat. Toddler-sized waves of 0.6ft to 1ft with clean offshore flow. There is a stand-out day for weather on Thursday morning, July 23rd: clear skies, a 2ft swell from the SE, period of 9 seconds, with a 16 mph cross-off wind from the SW. That’s about as good as it gets for this block – clean, tiny, not worth a special trip but the best of a bad bunch.

To sum it up: there is a long, blank run from now all the way to July 18th. Then one mediocre day on Saturday, July 19th, and then another long gap of clean but flat conditions until the run finishes. It’s one of those spells where patience is the only move. Keep the board waxed and wait for the next real swell window – it can’t stay this sleepy forever.

Rusty.

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