Horace Caldwell Pier Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Grab a coffee and listen up. Rusty here, and I've got to be straight with you—the outlook for our stretch of coast is a tough one. There's no sugar-coating it.

For the next 16 days, starting now, the surf is basically flat or so weak and messy it's not worth paddling out. The forecast is a long, drawn-out run of poor surf conditions. We're looking at a gap of several days—pretty much the entire period—where the swell is small, the wind is on it or cross-onshore, and the wave energy is feeble. The combined energy readings are all in the two-digit range, topping out at just 96 (weak wave energy), so there's no punch to anything.

The only spot in the game is Horace Caldwell Pier, a beach/pier setup that’s fairly consistent but is going to struggle here. The water temperature is sitting at about 85°F, which is basically spot on average for this time of year, so at least the water's warm if you want a float.

Let's walk through it. Wednesday 12th kicks off with a pathetic 3 ft SSE swell, period a miserable 5 seconds, and a 19 mph SSE wind blowing straight onshore. It's junk. Thursday 13th morning offers a tiny 4 ft SE swell but the wind is cross-onshore at 16 mph, making it choppy. This story repeats itself day after day: small swell, bad wind. A 4 ft SE swell on Friday 14th and Saturday 15th but the wind stays onshore. The only real standout here is a glimmer of hope on Sunday 23rd morning, and again on Monday 24th morning—glass conditions. But look at the swell: 2 ft and 2 ft, respectively, from the SE with a period of just 5 seconds. It's tiny, weak, and short-period. The energy readings are 21 and 30. Even with glassy conditions, there's barely a wave to ride. That's about as close to a "best" as we get, but it's still a near-washout. On Tuesday 25th morning, we get a brief moment of clean, cross-offshore wind from the WSW with a 2 ft ESE swell, but the combined energy is a paltry 24. It's tiny and inconsistent.

Honestly, for the whole 16-day window, there's no day where you'd look at this and get excited. The swell is too small, the period is too short (mostly 4-6 seconds), and the wind is almost always working against us. For a beach/pier setup like this, the lack of any real groundswell or decent period means the waves, if they show, will be weak and fat. This is a stretch where you're better off finding a different hobby for a couple of weeks. The forecasts can change, but right now, it's a full-on doldrum.

Rusty.

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