Indian River (Southside) Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here, and I've gotta be straight with you—this Indian River (Southside) stretch is looking pretty flat and funky for the next sixteen days. The water is sitting at 77°F, which is much warmer than normal for this time of year, so you might be tempted to just go for a swim, but don't expect any real surf.

The whole period kicks off with a long stretch of nothing. From Sunday, July 5th all the way through to the morning of Monday, July 13th, the conditions are just plain poor. Tiny, weak swell with combined energy barely cracking 20-80 (low energy) and a lot of cross-shore or onshore winds. There's a couple of glassy moments on the 6th and 10th, but with swell under 2ft and periods of 5 seconds, it's barely a ripple. Not worth paddling out for.

The first real glimmer comes on the afternoon of Monday, July 13th. We get a tiny bump of 3ft from the SSE, but the period is a short 4 seconds, so it's weak and disorganized. The combined energy is only 68 (still weak). The wind goes light cross-off from the SW, so it'll be clean. But honestly, this is a beginner-level ankle snapper at best, and the break is already advanced difficulty, so it's not a good match. The jetty might offer a little shape, but it's a reach.

There's a small window on Tuesday, July 14th morning with a 2ft SE swell, 7-second period, and a clean offshore wind from the W at 15 mph. The energy is only 42 (weak). It's clean, but tiny. The break is a beach/jetty setup, and with this short period, it's going to be a quick, crumbly wave. Not a standout.

The best of a bad bunch might be the morning of Thursday, July 16th. We get a 3ft S swell with a 5-second period, which is still short, but winds are a clean offshore from the WNW at 12 mph. The combined energy is 48 (weak). Again, it's tiny and short-period, but it's the cleanest wave in the window. The SSE optimum swell direction is a miss with this S swell, so the point won't be at its best.

Honestly, keep your expectations low. There's no standout swell here. The energy never gets above 155 (moderate) only briefly on the 11th, but that's a 4ft NE windswell with a 5-second period and onshore wind that makes it a choppy mess. For the beach break setup, that's more of a kite-surfing chop than a paddle-surfing wave.

If you're desperate, the 16th morning is your best bet for a clean, rideable ankle-to-knee high wave. But for the rest of the 16 days, it's a long, flat run. The area just isn't firing.

Rusty.

Read more