Hilton Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let's be straight with you – we're looking at a pretty bleak run of surf for the Hilton reef break over the next couple of weeks. The whole 16-day window is a bust, with barely a whisper of a wave.

To start, the water temp is sitting at 85°, which is a touch warmer than normal for this time of year, but that’s about the only bit of excitement we’ve got.

We kick off on Saturday, September 5th, with tiny, weak 2ft swell from the WNW and a short period of 6 seconds. The combined energy is pitiful at just 20. Winds are a light cross-onshore, making things messy. That sets the tone for the entire first week. Sunday and Monday offer a slight bump up to 3ft, but the period stays short and the wind stays onshore or cross-onshore, leaving the surface chopped up. It’s just flat and ugly.

Tuesday the 8th starts off glassy, with that same tiny 2ft swell, but the energy is gone by the afternoon. The pattern repeats: glassy mornings with almost no swell, then the afternoon breeze kills any hope. We get a tiny glimmer on Friday morning, September 11th, where we see a glassy 2ft wave, and the report mentions “surfable waves but very ordinary conditions.” That’s the best we get, and it’s still barely a ripple.

The second week is even more depressing. Swell drops to 1.0ft to 2ft, periods bottom out at 4 seconds. There’s a glassy Saturday morning on the 19th with a 2ft NW swell, but the combined energy is a heartbreaking 27. It’s a lake, not an ocean.

There is one moment that *almost* gets our attention. Sunday, September 20th, we finally see a pulse of energy: a 4ft WNW swell with an 8-second period and a combined energy of 232. That’s the only moderate swell energy in the entire forecast. But it’s described as “marginal surf forecast,” the winds are light cross-onshore in the morning, and it’s 16 days out, so it's a long-range promise. By the afternoon the wind is up and it’s choppy again. For a reef break on a WSW optimum swell direction, this WNW is off-angle, and the short period won't let it shape up well.

Honestly, if you're looking at the kite surfing potential with the stronger afternoon breezes and small, weak swell, it might be more interesting than a paddle. But for a surfer? There’s nothing to ride here. The reef break is inconsistent and rarely breaks as it is, so a blank run like this is more normal for the area. We just have to wait for the forecast to change.

Rusty.

Read more