Hobe Sound/The Refuge Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, let’s be straight with you. I’ve looked over the Hobe Sound / The Refuge stretch and, to be honest, it’s a pretty bleak picture for the next fortnight. We’re looking at a long run of marginal to poor conditions. The first solid recommendation for a surf doesn’t really appear until the second week, so there’s a gap of several days with nothing worth paddling out for.

Starting out, the pattern is dominated by small, weak swell and cross-onshore winds. Thursday the 9th shows a tiny 0.7ft swell from the ENE, period a short 9 seconds, with a light cross-onshore breeze. The combined swell energy is weak (12), the water temp is a warm 85°, which is about normal for the time of year. But honestly, it’s just poor surf. That theme sticks through the weekend and into the start of the next week. Swell heights barely nudge past 2ft, the periods are short and choppy, and the wind is almost always a problem, coming across or onshore. Saturday and Sunday bring the risk of thunderstorms on top of it.

There’s a tiny glimmer on the Wednesday the 15th morning. We get a 1ft swell from the NE, still a short 8 seconds, but the wind finally goes offshore from the WNW. The combined swell energy is still weak (23), and the surf is clean. The break is exposed to the NE, which is the optimum direction, so this is the only real stand-out in the entire run. It’s small, but it’s clean. Keep expectations real low for this one.

The following weekend sees that offshore wind stick around for a few mornings, but the swell stays tiny and weak. Sunday the 19th morning has a 1ft SSE swell (period only 4 seconds) with a clean offshore wind from the W, but the wave energy is a paltry 12. It’s a glassy, clean surface, but there’s just no push.

Looking into the final few days of the run, the swell does start to pick up a bit, hitting 4ft from the ESE on Thursday the 23rd of July. However, the period stays short at 5 seconds, and the wind is a moderate cross-onshore at 12 mph, making it choppy. The combined swell energy climbs to a moderate 78, but the surf quality is still graded as poor. It’s a little more size, but it’s not going to be any fun.

To sum it up: the whole 16-day window is a tough one for Hobe Sound. There’s no real power, no good consistency, and the wind doesn’t cooperate often. That Wednesday the 15th morning, with its clean offshore breeze, is your best hope, but it’s a micro-swell. For the rest, you’re better off doing something else. The forecasts can change, and it tends not to stay this flat forever, but for now, this is a rough stretch.

- Rusty

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