Matunuck Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, folks, Rusty here. Let’s be straight with you. I’ve looked at the charts for our stretch of coast, and it’s a bit of a tough one to write up. We’ve got a solid 16-day window ahead, but the surf is going to be a rare beast for most of it. We’re looking at a long stretch of small, messy, and often wind-affected waves. To be honest, there are long gaps where you’ll be better off doing literally anything else, but don't lose all hope just yet.

The first real chance for a wave comes on the morning of Tuesday the 4th. There’s a small pulse of energy, but it’s not going to be pretty. We’re looking at a wave around `4ft` from the South with a short, weak `8s` period. The wind is light from the SW, which puts it straight into the cross-shore category, leaving the surface with a bit of bump. The combined energy is a moderate `251`. It’s not really a recommendation, more of a "if you're desperate" kind of a paddle. The marine forecast is for clear skies, so it won't be a total washout, but you’ll be working hard for not a lot.

The stand-out, and I mean the only real stand-out in this whole run, arrives on Wednesday morning, the 5th of August. There’s a bump in the south swell pushing the wave height up to `5ft`. It’s still from the S, but the energy jumps significantly to `480`, which is solid for around here. The period is a short `8s`, so it will be a bit crumbly, but the winds are forecast to be from the SSE as a cross-offshore. This is going to be the cleanest, most powerful surf we see in the whole period. It might have a bit of rain about it, but that's a small price to pay for a wave that actually has some push.

After that, it’s a slow, sad slide into smallness. The rest of that week and into the next is just a series of tiny, energy-sapped swells. Conditions stay poor through the end of the first week, with cross-shore and cross-on winds constantly messing up what little bump is on offer. The wave heights dwindle to under `3ft` and the energy drops into the weak range, often below `100`.

There’s a slight flicker of hope on Monday afternoon, the 10th of August. The swell is still small at `4ft`, but the wind swings around to the NW as a cross-offshore, and for a few hours, the ocean should actually look clean. The energy is moderate at `108`, but it's still that short, weak `6s` period swell. It’s a chance for a few clean shoulders, but not anything to get overly excited about.

From then on, it’s a slow death. The swell just fades away day by day, dropping to `2ft`, `2ft` and finally down to `1ft` and `1.0ft` by the middle of next week. The whole second week is a write-off, with energy levels bottoming out in the teens and single digits, and winds constantly shifting, though never giving us a truly clean window with any size. That stretch from roughly the 13th to the 18th is just miles and miles of flat, bumpy ocean.

So there you have it. One decent-looking morning on Wednesday the 5th, and maybe a salvageable afternoon on Monday the 10th. For a place as consistent as Matunuck usually is, this is a pretty barren run. But that's the sea for you. It'll come back.

Stay salty,
Rusty.

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