Hobe Sound/The Refuge Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, this is Rusty. Let’s take a proper look at the Hobe Sound/The Refuge stretch for the next couple of weeks.

Straight up, I gotta be real with you – the outlook here is pretty grim for the whole 16-day window. The guidance points to Hobe Sound/The Refuge being a beach and reef setup, exposed to the NE, and it likes swell from the NE direction. Problem is, for the entire forecast period, the swell direction is off that ideal, and the swell heights are tiny. We’re talking ankle-biters at best.

The combined swell energy is weak, mostly sitting around single-digit or low double-digit values (10 to 43). That tells you there’s just no push in the water. For the first few days, from Tuesday the 28th through the end of July, we’ve got waves no bigger than 0.3 ft to 0.7 ft. That’s flat, mate. You wouldn't even get a ride on a log. And the period is short, around 8 to 10 seconds, so it’s just weak windswill, not groundswell. The water temp is 86°F, which is about 0.9°F above the norm for this time of year, so nothing crazy there – just your usual warm summer bath.

Moving into the start of August, Saturday the 1st shows a tiny bump to 2 ft from the SE, but the period drops to a shocking 3 seconds. That’s pure junk. Combined energy is still low at 15. Sunday the 2nd and Monday the 3rd see a bit more energy (26 and 43), and the biggest wave height we see is 3 ft on Monday morning, but again with a short 5-second period from the SE. The wind on that Monday morning is a light cross-shore, so it’s clean, but the swell is just too weak and poorly directed to offer anything decent.

From Tuesday the 4th through the middle of August, it’s a broken record: heights between 0.3 ft and 2 ft, poor swell directions (ESE, SSE, SE, NE), and short periods. There are a couple of glassy moments – like the morning of Tuesday the 4th and Wednesday the 5th – but with no swell to back it up, glassy conditions just mean flat and pretty. No waves to surf.

The best of a bad bunch might be Monday morning the 3rd of August, where we see that 3 ft from the SE. Even then, the swell quality is poor. Combined energy hits 43, which is still weak, and the period at 5 seconds means it’s just lumpy, unorganized, and won’t hold a face.

Forget about it being too big for anyone – nothing here gets above 3 ft. Even a grom on a foamie would be struggling. If you’re a kite surfer, maybe that 2 ft to 3 ft with some side-onshore wind later in the first week gives you something to do, but for a paddle surfer, this is a blank run. The break can be fairly consistent, but this stretch is a total flat spell. All the entries say “poor surf conditions.” That’s the truth of it.

This is a write-off, folks. Check back next week; forecasts can change, but right now, leave the boards in the car.

Rusty.

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