Forte dei Marmi (Pontille) Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, let’s get into it. This is a look ahead for the Versilia stretch here in Italy.

Honestly, the opening week is a real struggle. We’re talking flat to near-flat conditions for days on end at Forte dei Marmi (Pontille). The water is sitting at a very unusual 84° – that’s a massive 7° warmer than normal for this time of year, which just feels weird. It’s a beach and jetty setup that needs a solid SW pulse, and we just aren’t getting it. The first real glimmer of hope doesn’t show until the morning of Friday the 21st, when a tiny 1-yard SW swell at 7 seconds rolls in, and the wind is glassy from the SE. It’s weak energy though (125), and the description says “very ordinary.” That’s the best of a bad bunch for that first week.

Saturday the 22nd morning is similar – 1-yard SW, glassy, but again weakish energy (153) and just ordinary. Most afternoons get ruined by onshore breezes. From Sunday the 23rd through Tuesday the 25th morning, it’s basically flat.

Now, here’s where it gets interesting, but it comes with a huge caveat. On Tuesday the 25th morning, a much bigger pulse arrives: solid 2-yard SW swell at 8 seconds. The energy jumps right up to a strong 603. The wind is light from the S, so a bit cross-onshore but workable. This is the first time we’ve got any grunt, but that size is really for the more experienced crew. For a beginner spot, 2 yards is a lot.

Keep an eye on the morning of Friday the 28th. Another 2-yard SW swell, but this time from the WSW, with a moderate 816 energy rating. Problem is, the wind is SW onshore at 15 km/h, which will mess up the face at a beach break. It’s a marginal call at best.

The real standout on paper, if you are an expert only, is the morning of Tuesday the 1st of September. We’re looking at a solid 3-yard swell from the WSW, with a 9-second period. That’s 1867 on the energy scale – proper power. But again, it’s coming with a SSW wind at 20 km/h, straight onshore. At that size and with that wind, Forte dei Marmi is going to be a washing machine. This setup looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing, to be honest. It’s a real shame the wind doesn’t cooperate.

After that, things start to fade out. The morning of Wednesday the 2nd of September offers a clean 1-yard WSW swell with a light offshore NE breeze (105 energy). It’s surfable, and clean, but tiny.

So, to sum it up: there are no perfect days in this run. If you are desperate, the best windows of clean, small surf are Friday the 21st and Saturday the 22nd mornings. For the bigger stuff, the 25th and 28th have power but onshore wind. The 1st of September has serious size but is blown out. It’s a frustrating outlook for a spot that needs everything to line up.

Rusty.

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