Indian River (Southside) Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, let’s get straight into it. The stretch ahead is a tough one for surfers. We’re looking at a solid run of days with little to no rideable waves, and I’ll be honest with you, it’s pretty grim. There are a few windows where it cleans up, but the size just isn’t there to make it worth paddling out for most of us.

The pattern starts with a long flat spell. From Tuesday the 25th through to Sunday the 30th, we’ve got barely a ripple. Wave heights are hovering around 1ft to 2ft, with short-period wind swell. The energy is weak, reading between 20 and 63 on the combined scale. There are moments on Friday afternoon where the wind turns offshore from the west (19 mph) and the water looks clean, but it’s still only 1ft. That’s not surf, that’s a lake. This stretch is a washout.

The first real chance of anything comes Monday the 31st. Still small, but the wind goes cross-offshore from the south, and it’s clean. Size is only 1ft though, with a short 7-second period. It’s a skimboard day at best. Then we hit another flat spell for the first few days of September. Tuesday the 1st and Wednesday the 2nd see a bump in period to 12-15 seconds, which tells you there’s some groundswell trying to push through, but the heights are stuck at 1ft-1ft and the wind is onshore from the northeast. The energy on Tuesday afternoon does hit 101, but it’s all wind chop with no power. Not worth a look.

The first proper, half-decent window shows up on Saturday the 5th of September. We finally get some size, with the morning seeing 3ft from the ESE at 12 mph cross-offshore wind. The period jumps to 11 seconds, and the energy kicks up to 153. The conditions will be clean with that northwest cross-off. That’s the standout morning of the whole outlook. It’s not epic, but it’s the only time the stars align for a paddle. That afternoon drops to 2ft with lighter wind, still clean-ish, but the energy backs off.

After that, it gets messy. Sunday the 6th of September sees the swell build to 3ft-4ft from the south, but the period is a woeful 6 seconds. That’s pure wind chop. The morning has light offshore wind and looks clean, but the lack of period means the waves will be soft and crumbly. The energy is moderate at 103-134, but quality is terrible. From Monday the 7th onwards, it’s a race to the bottom. Sizes drop back below 3ft, the wind swings onshore and cross-shore, and by Wednesday the 9th, we’ve got a 28 mph cross-shore wind with 1ft slop. That’s full on kite-surfing conditions, not surfing.

So, bottom line: the entire 16-day window is a write-off for real surf. The only day with any sort of redeeming feature is Saturday the 5th of September. Indian River (Southside) will have a little 3ft groundswell and clean conditions, but it’s not the kind of swell that will have you calling in sick. For beginners, it’s small enough to be safe, but it's still messy. The water is a touch warmer than normal for this time of year, at 77°F, but that won’t help the waves. That’s the long and short of it. It’s one of those stretches where the forecast can change, but right now, I’m not getting my hopes up.

Rusty.

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