Fort Fisher Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, let's talk Fort Fisher in feet and miles. To be straight with you, it's a pretty flat and ordinary run for the most part. We're looking at a long stretch of small, weak surf with very little to get excited about. The combined energy is almost always in the low double digits (31 to 47), which tells you it's weak, and the swell height just doesn't get above 2ft until we're deep into September. The water temp is about average for the time of year, nothing special.

The first solid week, from Tuesday the 25th of August right through to the end of the month, is a total washout. You're getting tiny 1ft waves from the southeast with short periods under 11 seconds, and the wind is either cross-on or straight onshore most of the time, making for choppy, messy conditions. There are a couple of moments with glassy conditions, like Saturday morning the 29th and Monday morning the 31st, but the swell is so small and weak you'd be lucky to get a ride. It's just poor.

We then have a gap of almost no improvement through the start of September. Tuesday the 1st and Wednesday the 2nd of September finally see the combined energy bump up a little into the 80s and 90s, but we're still on 1ft surf. The wind turns offshore or cross-off those mornings, which cleans things up, but the waves are described as "surfable but very ordinary." It's a step up, but not a standout.

The first proper hint of something better shows up on Saturday the 5th of September. The morning is okay with a 2ft easterly swell and offshore wind, but it's the afternoon that starts to look more interesting. We get a 3ft swell from the east with a 12-second period, and the combined energy jumps to 263 – moderate energy at last. The wind goes cross-off, so it'll be clean. That's the best looking window so far.

The true standout, the only thing worth planning for, is Sunday the 6th of September. Fort Fisher is a beach and reef setup, and with this swell direction from the east, it should line up nicely. The morning has a 2ft swell, 12-second period, with light offshore breeze (WSW at 3 mph), so it'll be clean. But the afternoon is the real gem. The swell holds at 2ft from the east, 12-second period, and the wind goes glassy with a slight air from the SSE. That's going to be clean, smooth, and the best conditions we've seen in this entire forecast. The combined energy is 149, moderate, but the quality of the conditions makes it the pick.

After that, Monday the 7th and Tuesday the 8th of September see a return to choppy cross-onshore winds and dropping energy, so get it while you can. Remember, Fort Fisher can be inconsistent, so when a window like that Sunday afternoon opens up, you go.

Alright, keep your eyes on that Sunday the 6th. I'll be there.

Rusty.

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