Holden Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s get straight into it for Holden Beach. Look, I’m not gonna sugarcoat it – this 16-day run is a tough one. We’ve got a long stretch of nothing much to write home about, and it’s gonna take a while before we see anything even worth a second look.

The first real chance to paddle out doesn’t come until the morning of Thursday the 23rd of July. Up until then, it’s a whole lot of small, choppy, cross-onshore junk. From Friday the 17th right through to Wednesday the 22nd, the swell is tiny, the wind is mostly onshore or cross-onshore, and the wave comment is repeat after repeat – “poor surf conditions”. That’s a full six days of frustration. You’re better off finding a river or a lake to cool off in.

So, Thursday the 23rd of July. The morning still looks messy with a moderate cross-shore breeze and a weak 3 ft S swell (98 energy). But then, Thursday afternoon, things get interesting. The wind goes completely glassy – a solid 3 mph from the NW. That’s a glass-off. The swell drops a touch to 3 ft from the S, still at a short 6 seconds, but the window is clean. The wave comment finally says “surfable waves but very ordinary conditions”. It’s not pumping, but it’s the only window in the first week where you might get a few clean little crumblers to yourself. The water is sitting at 84°F, which is about normal for the time of year, so no wetsuit needed.

The next little glimmer comes on the morning of Saturday the 25th of July. The wind is a light cross-offshore from the NE at 6 mph, with 3 ft of S swell. The energy is still weak (86), but it’s clean. The wave comment is again “surfable waves but very ordinary conditions”. It’s a small, clean option for a longboard or a foamie, but don’t expect any power.

Then, we get a real gap. Nothing of note for a few days until the morning of Tuesday the 28th of July. That morning, the wind is glassy again – dead calm from the WNW at 3 mph. The swell is 3 ft from the S, with a short 6-second period. The energy is only 77, so it’s weak. The wave comment says “surfable waves but very ordinary conditions”. It’s a small, glassy morning, but the swell is still underwhelming.

Finally, the last little window to mention is the morning of Thursday the 30th of July. We get a bit of a bump in energy to 111 (moderate wave energy) with a 4 ft swell from the SSW, but the wind is a gentle cross-shore from the WSW. The wave comment is still “poor surf conditions”. It’s a little more size, but not clean enough to get excited about.

The best on offer? Honestly, the Thursday 23rd July afternoon glass-off is the standout. It’s the only time the conditions really align to give you something clean, even if the swell is tiny. The Saturday 25th morning and Tuesday 28th morning are your other "maybe" sessions. For the rest, it’s a whole lot of nothing. The beach is exposed to the south, and the wind just doesn’t play nice most of the time. If you’re a kite surfer, the afternoons with 19 mph onshore winds might be more your speed, but for a paddle surfer, it’s a tough period.

Rusty.

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