Fortress Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, let me level with you. This is a rough stretch for Fortress. Looking at the entire sixteen-day window, we’ve got basically nothing that’s going to get you excited. The first solid suggestion doesn’t even pop up until Saturday, August 29th, and even then, it’s a one-star day at best. That’s a long dry spell from now until then.

Fortress is a reef setup, exposed to the swell, and the water temp is sitting at 73°F, which is pretty normal for this time of year. The problem is the swell. For the next eight days, it’s all junk. Small, weak, short-period windswell from the northeast and east, barely cracking 5ft on Friday the 21st, but that’s paired with a nasty 28 mph cross-shore wind. That’s a complete write-off. The combined energy is only 111 on Friday morning, and it just gets weaker from there. All the wave comments say “poor surf conditions” and the scores are zeros. Nothing to see.

Saturday the 22nd and Sunday the 23rd are even smaller, with the swell dropping to 0.7ft on Sunday. That’s flat. Monday the 24th sees a little bump back up to 3ft from the SSE, combined energy at 112, and clean morning wind from the west, but the period is only 6 seconds. It’s weak, and the afternoon gets chopped up again. Tuesday the 25th has clean offshore wind all day, but the swell is only 1.0ft. It’s pretty, but you can’t surf it.

There’s a long stretch of tiny, inconsistent, and poorly shaped swell right through to the end of August. The first real, albeit very ordinary, sign of life is on Saturday the 29th. The morning shows 2ft from the southeast, period at 8 seconds, combined energy of 56, and light north wind making it cross-offshore and clean. The wave comment finally says “surfable waves but very ordinary conditions” – that’s your best bet. It’s not good, but it’s the only thing that isn’t a total zero. Since Fortress is a reef, that little southeast groundswell could wrap in and offer a few closeouts, but don’t expect much. Crowds are “often” an issue here, but on a day like this, you might have the place to yourself.

After that, it’s back to tiny, blown-out junk with strong onshore winds from the southeast into the first week of September. Tuesday the 1st of September has clean-ish conditions with strong SW winds blowing cross-off, but the swell is still only 2-2ft, period at 6 seconds, and combined energy a pathetic 43. It’s barely worth a paddle.

Honestly, for the whole sixteen days, the only time you might get a few ugly but rideable waves is the morning of August 29th. That’s your one standout, and it’s a weak one. The rest of it? Kite surfers might find something in the strong cross-shore days, but for us paddle surfers, this is a waiting game. It’s a blank run, but it won’t stay this way forever.

Rusty

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