Indian River (Southside) Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, folks, Rusty here. Let's have a look at what's cookin' for the next couple of weeks.

Truth be told, it’s a pretty flat spell on the whole. We’ve got a long stretch of small, weak leftovers and onshore slop, so don’t go getting your hopes up too early. The only real pulse of energy worth paddling for shows up around Friday the 7th of August, and even that’s a bit of a mixed bag.

Let’s start with the early days. Right through the end of July and into the first week of August, Indian River (Southside) is looking pretty sad. Swell is tiny—1ft to 2ft—with short, weak periods mostly between 4 and 8 seconds. The combined energy is low, reading between 15 and 81, so the ocean's basically got nothing behind it. Winds are cross or cross-onshore, making for lumpy, choppy conditions. It’s a write-off for a solid week, with no decent surf on offer until we get deeper into the month.

Now, here’s where it gets interesting. On Friday morning, August 7th, the swell bumps up to 5ft from the SSW, with a period of 6 seconds. The combined energy jumps to 206, which is moderate, so there’s some actual push behind it. Winds early that morning are gentle and cross-off from the SSW, which should keep it fairly clean. The wave data says “marginal surf forecast or questionable tide conditions,” so don’t expect perfection, but this is the biggest and most rideable swell in the whole 16-day window. Later that afternoon the wind swings to a fresh cross-shore from the south and the size drops off, so the morning window is your best bet. Even with the caveat, this is the standout: bigger swell, clean conditions, and a bit of energy.

After that burst, things fade back into the mush. The rest of the second week and into mid-August sees swell dropping back below 2ft, with very low energy figures (10 to 38). Winds stay clean for some of those days but there’s simply no swell to work with. The 14th and 15th of August look particularly grim with tiny 0.7ft waves onshore from the east and northeast, and periods around 8 to 10 seconds that just won’t do anything for a beach jetty setup.

So, bottom line: if you're an advanced surfer who can work with a marginal window, target Friday morning, August 7th. For everyone else, it's a long, quiet stretch with barely a ripple to your name.

Rusty.

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