Hobe Sound/The Refuge Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here again, looking at the same stretch for Hobe Sound/The Refuge (Hobe-Sound). Let’s be real, it’s been a flat spell, and the next 16 days don’t offer much to get excited about. The water’s holding at a balmy 86°, which is about what you’d expect for this time of year.

We kick off on Saturday the 18th with next to nothing. A tiny 0.7ft swell from the ENE, with a short period of 7 seconds, and the combined energy is a weak 12. It’s cross-onshore, messy, and small. This pattern of poor, small, and choppy surf sticks around for the whole first week. The winds stay mostly cross-onshore or onshore, with a couple of glassy moments on the morning of Wednesday the 22nd and Thursday the 23rd, but the swell is still just a knee-high ripple. The energy stays in the low zones, never breaking into anything moderate.

Around Saturday the 25th, the swell tries to push a bit, showing a 3ft ESE swell in the morning, and the energy climbs to 67. Still, that’s weak wave energy, and the wind is cross-onshore, so it’s not going to be worth the walk.

The real tease comes at the end of the run. On Monday the 27th and Tuesday the 28th, we finally see some clean conditions with light offshore winds from the W and WSW, but the swell is a pathetic 1ft and 0.7ft respectively. The energy is in the low teens. It’s glassy, but it’s flat.

The best chance for a clean wave comes on Wednesday the 30th and Thursday the 31st of July. On the 30th, we’ve got a gentle offshore wind from the WSW and a 0.7ft ENE swell with a period of 10 seconds – that longer period is a sign of better shaped energy, but it’s just too small to ride. On the 31st, the swell bumps up to 1ft from the NE with a period of 8 seconds, and the energy jumps to 42 with a clean offshore wind. It’s still tiny, but it’s the most promising window in the whole outlook.

Into the first days of August, the 1st and 2nd, we see a similar pattern. Small, clean swells, but nothing that will get you out of bed. The final day, Sunday the 2nd of August, has a glassy start with a 2ft E swell, but the period is a short 4 seconds, so it’s weak and slow.

Honestly, there’s no standout surf here. The whole 16-day window is a gap of poor to flat conditions. There isn’t a single day where the swell, wind, and break quality come together for a real session. It’s a long, quiet stretch for Hobe Sound. The consistency is fairly consistent, but it’s consistently small. Keep your board waxed, check back later, and maybe the forecasts change.

Rusty.

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