Isle of Palms Pier Surf Forecast and Surf Report

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

To be straight with you, this is a tough one. We’re looking at a 16-day window where the surf just doesn’t want to cooperate. The first real recommendation doesn’t show up, and honestly, the whole period is a struggle. There’s a long stretch of days with nothing worth paddling out for. The swell is small, the wind is often messy, and the energy is weak.

The only spot on the radar is Isle of Palms Pier. It’s a beginner-friendly beach/pier setup, but it’s inconsistent. It takes a south-east swell to really get it going, and we just aren’t seeing that.

The best of a bad bunch comes on Thursday morning, July 9th. We’re looking at a tiny 2 ft swell from the SW, with a short period of 5 seconds. The combined energy is a weak 51, so it’s going to be soft. The wind is a cross-off from the WSW at 9 mph, which will keep the surface clean. It’s surfable, but it’s very ordinary. Expect crowds here, as it’s the only real option.

After that, the wind swings onshore or goes cross-shore, and the swell drops even further. The water temperature is about average for the time of year, nothing to write home about. There are a couple of glassy mornings, like on Wednesday morning, July 15th, with a 1.0 ft swell and no wind, but the swell is just too small to do anything with. It’s the same story on Saturday morning, July 18th – glassy but tiny.

For the second week, the pattern holds. Small, weak swells and cross-shore winds. The energy is never enough to get excited about. If you’re a beginner and just want to get wet in clean conditions, the Thursday morning of the 9th is your best shot. For anyone else, this is a time to do something else.

This is a tough run. It’s fair to say the surf is poor for the entire 16 days. The setup is more interesting for a kite surfer than a paddle surfer, given the onshore wind and small, weak waves.

Rusty.

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