Hobe Sound/The Refuge Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, let’s get into it. This is Rusty, and I’m looking at the forecast for Hobe Sound/The Refuge out here in Florida. Straight up, I gotta be honest with you – the next week and a half is looking pretty flat and frustrating. There’s a long stretch of tiny, weak, and mostly onshore junk, so don’t get your hopes up too early. We’ve got a couple of flickers of life way down the line, but you’ll need patience.

The water temp is sitting at about 85°, which is pretty much bang on average for this time of year, so at least the water’s warm while you’re waiting.

The first glimmer of anything interesting doesn’t show up until Friday, August 7th. That morning, we see a bit of a jump in swell, with waves around 4ft from the ENE. The energy is moderate (208), but the wind is coming from the ENE at 12 mph, which puts it cross-onshore and choppy. Not great. That afternoon, the swell bumps up to 6ft from the SE, with energy jumping to 356 – that’s solid wave energy. But again, the wind is cross-onshore from the NE at 12 mph, making it messy. This is a beach-and-reef setup, and with that chop, it’s looking more like a kite-surfing session than a clean paddle session.

The next day, Saturday, August 8th, the swell drops back to 4ft from the SE. The morning wind is a cross-shore from the NNE at 9 mph, which is a bit better, but still lumpy. The energy is moderate (143). A slight improvement, but nothing to write home about.

Then we hit a real standout – Sunday, August 9th. That morning, the wind goes glassy from the WNW, with barely a breath of air. The swell is 4ft from the SE. The energy is a bit weak (84), but for the first time in the whole outlook, we have glassy conditions. The waves are surfable, but the report says “very ordinary conditions.” For this spot, that’s the best we get. It’s not a classic, but it’s clean and rideable. That’s your window if you’re desperate for a session.

After that, it’s back to the doldrums, with small, weak, cross-onshore slop for the rest of the forecast period. A couple of mornings on August 12th and 13th have clean-ish conditions with tiny 1-2ft ENE swell, but the energy is low (39-51), so it’s just a knee-high dribble.

So, the pick of the litter is Sunday morning, August 9th at Hobe Sound/The Refuge. It’s not a pumping day, but it’s the only time the wind plays nice and gives you a chance at a clean wave. Crowds are possible here, so expect a few others with the same idea. For the rest of the run, you’re better off checking the forecast again later – things can change, and it tends not to stay this poor for long.

Stay patient, and keep your eyes on the horizon.

Rusty

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