Hobe Sound/The Refuge Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let's have a look at what's on the table for the Hobe Sound stretch. Right off the bat, I gotta be straight with you – this is a quiet spell. The combined wave energy is weak, topping out at just 41 (moderate energy) only briefly, and mostly hanging around the 4 to 37 range, which is a poor showing. We're looking at a long, dry gap with no real surf to speak of for the entire 16-day window.

Kicking things off on Tuesday, the 25th of August, we've got practically nothing. Swell height is a tiny 0.3 ft from the NE, with a short period of 8 seconds. The water temp is sitting at 86°F, which is about normal for this time of year with a slight anomaly of 2°F. The wind is a light cross-shore in the morning, but it's not enough to do anything with.

Wednesday through the rest of the week and into the weekend is more of the same. The swell is tiny, mostly under 2 ft, and the period is often short, with some longer-period (15 seconds) energy on Thursday the 27th, but the swell height is only 0.7 ft, so it's a tease. The wind is mostly cross-on or onshore, keeping things choppy and messy. There's a risk of thunderstorms on a few days too, which won't help.

The gap stretches on. We're talking about day after day of "poor surf conditions" in the data. The combined energy stays low, well below 100. There's a brief moment on Thursday, the 3rd of September, when the morning goes glassy with a NNW wind at 3 mph, but the swell is still a pathetic 0.7 ft. Then on Friday, the 4th, we get a clean offshore wind from the W at 3 mph, but again, the swell is 1.0 ft – it's a flat spell with good wind, which is a cruel joke.

Into the second week, from the 6th of September onwards, the wind picks up from the ENE and NE, but the swell remains tiny and weak. The combined energy drops into single digits. For a spot like Hobe Sound/The Refuge, which is a beach and reef setup, this is a long stretch of nothing. It's so flat that if you're really jonesing for a pull, the setup might look more interesting for a kite surfer than a paddle surfer, but that's not what we're here for.

So, the honest truth? There's no standout, no best on offer. The entire 16-day forecast is a bust for surfable waves. It's a blank run, and for this area, that's just how it goes sometimes. Keep an eye on the charts, because it tends not to stay this quiet forever.

Rusty out.

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