Hanna Park/Mayport Poles Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, this is Rusty. Let’s get straight into it, because this stretch is a tough one for the Hannah Park area (Hanna Park/Mayport Poles). We’ve got a long wait ahead, so be patient.

The outlook over the next 16 days starts off really, really quiet. From Saturday, August 22, all the way through to Tuesday morning, September 1, the surf is basically flat or junk. I’m talking about a solid 10-day gap where you’re better off doing literally anything else. Swell heights barely tickle 1 ft, and when we do see a pulse over 3 ft on a few afternoons, it’s all short-period, choppy windswell—periods down at 4 to 7 seconds—and hammered by cross-onshore winds. The combined wave energy is weak, mostly well under 100. It’s just not worth paddling out; the setup looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing on those windy afternoons.

The first real glimmer of hope shows up on Wednesday morning, September 2. There’s a clean, cross-offshore breeze from the SW at 6 mph, and the swell rolls in at 2 ft from the ESE with a period of 12 seconds. The combined energy ramps up to 199, which is a decent moderate energy level. The water temperature is a notable 85°, which is about 1° warmer than average—nothing crazy, but nice warm water for the skin. That morning gives us surfable but ordinary conditions. It’s small, but it’s clean. This is probably the pick of the whole outlook, even though it’s nothing to write home about.

The best true standout here, if you can call it that, is that Wednesday morning (September 2) at Hanna Park/Mayport Poles. The swell is out of the ESE, which is nearly right in line with the optimum direction of NNE for the spot. With light offshore wind, the waves will be clean. It’s small, so it’s fine for beginners, and crowds are possible since it’s a fairly consistent spot that “often” sees people. It’s a beach break, so with the long-period energy (12 seconds), the sets will have better shape, but watch out for them closing out straight in the shorebreak.

After that, we get a few more clean mornings on the 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th of September, but with tiny swell and mostly short-period stuff. The energy drops off quickly. There’s no real swell to get excited about again in the second week—just a lot of flat spells and onshore slop.

So, bottom line: there’s a long dry spell, then one clean, small window on the morning of September 2. If you’re desperate for a paddle, that’s your day. Otherwise, keep the board in the car and wait for the forecasts to change—it tends not to stay this poor for long.

Rusty.

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