Gold Beach/South Park/Hunter Creek Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s get straight into it. The outlook for the Gold Beach/South Park/Hunter Creek stretch is a bit of a tough one to swallow. We’re looking at a long, long stretch of messy, wind-affected conditions with not much in the way of clean surf. The wind is a constant problem, coming mostly from the NNW, locking in a cross or cross-onshore flow that’s chopping up the surface. The water temp is about average for the time of year, which is fine, but that’s the only easy thing about it.

Right through the first week, from Friday the 7th all the way into the evening of Wednesday the 12th, it’s just a write-off. The wind is howling, with speeds hitting 19 mph to 28 mph, keeping the surf lumpy, messy, and cross-chop ridden. The swell is there, but it’s all over the shop—short-period NW windswell mixed with some long-period SW groundswell—but it doesn’t matter because the wind is destroying any chance of a clean face. The combined wave energy is moderate, hitting values like 320 to 444, but it’s all wasted energy. You’d be getting beaten up out there for no reward.

We don’t see a sniff of a decent wave until the morning of Friday the 14th. And even then, it’s just a marginal call. The swell drops to small 2 ft from the SW, with a long period of 16 seconds, but the wind is still a light cross-onshore. The energy is moderate at 319. It’s not great, but it’s the first window where you wouldn’t be totally wasting your time. The morning of the 16th and the morning of the 19th also show up as marginal, with the same story: small SW or WNW swell, light cross-onshore wind, and moderate energy. These are the only real windows to look at, and they’re not standouts, just the least bad options.

The standout, if you can call it that, is the morning of Wednesday the 19th. The combined swell energy hits 531, which is a noticeable step up, with a 3 ft swell from the WNW at a 15-second period. The wind is a light cross-onshore at 6 mph, which is the best we’ll see. It’s still a beach-and-reef setup, so with that long period groundswell, it might be a bit too straight for the beach breaks, but the reef could offer up a cleaner line. It’s really the only session in the whole 16-day run that has a glimmer of hope. Keep in mind though, the crowds are often here, so don’t expect to have it to yourself.

Honestly, for most of this period, the setup looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing. The strong cross-shore winds and lumpy conditions are a kite’s dream, but for a surfer, it’s a frustrating run of poor conditions. The gaps are huge – days and days of nothing between the marginal windows. It’s a tough stretch.

Rusty.

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