Fort Point Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s get into it for this region. The only spot on the radar is Fort Point, and it’s a sheltered, advanced, inconsistent reef and beach setup. That means it’s a spot that needs a bit of everything to line up, and when it does, it’s a gem. But don’t get too excited; this is a run of mostly small to moderate, short-period windswell, with a little tease of something with longer period right at the very end.

The good news starts on Thursday the 30th of July. The morning sees a clean 7ft swell out of the WNW (period 8 seconds) with a light cross-off breeze. The wave energy is moderate (842). The water is a very unusual 63°, which is much warmer than normal for this time of year. It’s a solid start, but it’s just a morning window; the afternoon gets sloppy with a stronger wind.

Friday the 31st and Saturday the 1st of August follow the same pattern: clean mornings with 6ft to 7ft of WNW swell, light winds, and moderate energy (618 to 872). The afternoons though, they get blown out by a moderate breeze. This is a pattern of “get it while you can” in the early hours.

The morning of Sunday the 2nd of August is another clean one with 6ft of WNW swell and a period stretching to 9 seconds. The energy is moderate (618). The afternoons remain marginal.

The true standout in this forecast is the morning of Monday the 3rd of August. The swell is 6ft out of the WNW, but the period is stepping up to 10 seconds, which means more energy in the water and better shaped waves. The energy is moderate (692), and with a light cross-off breeze, it’ll be clean. The morning of Tuesday the 4th of August is also lovely: 5ft of WNW swell, now with an 11-second period, giving it a bit more push and making the paddling out easier between sets. Light winds keep it clean. These two mornings are the best on offer.

The following week, from the 5th to the 11th of August, things drop off. The swell hangs around 3ft to 5ft, mostly with periods of 8 to 10 seconds. The mornings are often surfable but ordinary, with light winds. The afternoons are consistently poor due to moderate winds. There’s no real punch here, just small, background windswell. The energy values sit in the low to mid 300s to high 400s, so it’s weak to moderate.

Then, around the 12th and 13th of August, we get an interesting shift. The swell drops to 2ft and 3ft, but the period jumps to 16 and 18 seconds from the SW. That’s a very long period groundswell. The energy is still moderate (503 to 590), but with such a long period, it’s going to be very straight and won’t offer much shape at a beach and reef setup like Fort Point. It’s better suited to a point break. The winds are light in the mornings, so it’ll be glassy, but the waves will be small and slow. The morning of the 12th of August is the best of this late run, but it’s a promise with a caveat.

So, to wrap it up: the best surf is the morning of Monday the 3rd and the morning of Tuesday the 4th of August. Clean, moderate energy, and a better period. The window is always the mornings. If you’re a beginner, the swell is mostly manageable, but it does push over 7ft on the Saturday, which might be a bit much. For experts, the long-period stuff at the end is worth a look if you’re patient, but it’s not a classic.

Rusty.

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