Horace Caldwell Pier Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s cookin’ for the next stretch.

Right off the bat, I gotta be straight with ya – this is a tough one. Over the next 16 days, the outlook is pretty grim. We’re lookin’ at a long stretch of poor surf conditions with no real standouts to get excited about. The only break on the radar is Horace Caldwell Pier, a beach/pier setup that’s fairly exposed to the swell, but the wind and the wave quality just aren’t lining up.

Starting from Tuesday, July 14, we’ve got a run of poor surf that goes on and on. The swell is weak, with combined energy values barely cracking 100 (72 on Tuesday morning, 58 in the afternoon). The wind is onshore or cross-onshore, mostly from the S or SSE, which is blowin’ straight into the face of the waves. It’s choppy and messy. The swell direction is SE, which matches the optimum direction for the spot, but the period is short – only 5 to 6 seconds – so it’s weak, wind-driven slop. Water temperature is around 83°F, which is about average for the time of year, so no surprises there.

The pattern keeps up through the middle of the month. We see a bit of a bump on Thursday, July 16, when the combined energy climbs to 128 in the morning and 130 in the afternoon, but the wind is still onshore at 15 to 19 mph, and the swell is only 4 ft with a 6-second period. That’s not the kind of surf that gets you out of bed. And it’s still rated poor.

Friday, July 17, the energy hits 171 in the morning, the highest of the whole run, but again – onshore and cross-onshore winds, lumpy conditions, and the swell is just 5 ft with a 7-second period. It’s a step up in size, but the quality is just not there. For beginners, 5 ft is manageable, but with the wind chop, it’s honestly not fun.

From there, it’s a slow decline. The rest of July and into early August, the swell drops to 3 ft or less, the energy falls into the 20s and 30s, and the wind stays onshore or cross-onshore. Even the best-looking days, like Sunday, July 19, with clear skies, still have onshore winds and weak, short-period swell. There’s no point in highlighting a single day because they all look the same – poor.

The crowd situation at Horace Caldwell Pier is “sometimes,” so it’s not a zoo, but with no quality surf, that doesn’t matter. The break is fairly consistent, but that consistency is for poor surf. It’s a beach/pier setup, so if the wind holds, it might be more interesting for kite surfing than for paddling.

So, bottom line: there are no good surf options in this 16-day window. The forecast is a blank run, and for this area, that’s not unusual at this time of year. Don’t force it. Wait for the forecasts to change.

Rusty.

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