Middles/Generals Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here, let's talk about what's cookin' at Middles/Generals over the next couple of weeks.

Honestly, this is a tough one to write. We're looking at a long, frustrating stretch before any real hope shows up. The water temp is sitting at 80°F, which is about 0.4°F warmer than normal for this time of year, so it's pretty much what you'd expect for a July swim.

Right now, and for the next several days, it's a write-off. The wind is howling from the ENE at 22-25 mph, putting a nasty cross or cross-onshore chop on everything. The swell is a mix of small, weak SSW groundswell and some short-period ENE windswell, but the energy is all over the place (846 to 1350 range). The wave comment says it all: "poor surf conditions." There's just nothing to get excited about.

We're looking at a gap of about five days with no real recommendations. The first glimmer of something... well, anything... shows up on Monday the 27th of July. The afternoon sees a 5 ft E swell, but the wind is still a messy cross-shore at 19 mph. It's only rated as "marginal." It's a long way from good.

The real standout, the only one worth planning for, is shaping up for Wednesday the 29th of July. The morning looks clean. We've got a 7 ft swell from the ENE, with a period of 12 seconds, and a light NNE wind at 12 mph that's cross-offshore. That's clean. The energy is pumping hard at 1543. This is a solid intermediate wave—7 ft is a bit much for beginners, but for the rest of us, that's a proper session. The afternoon holds up too, with a lighter N wind at 12 mph keeping things cross-off. The swell ticks over to 11 seconds, which is still good. The only bummer? The break is "often" crowded, and with the only decent swell in a week, you can expect company.

After that one bright spot, it's back to the grind. The wind swings around on Thursday the 30th, and by Friday the 31st, we're back to strong, messy cross-shore winds and short-period slop. The second week of the outlook is pretty grim. A couple of pulses of E swell on the 5th and 6th of August are around 5 ft to 5 ft, but the period is middling and the wind is still a cross-shore mess. It's not worth the paddle.

So, in short: wait for Wednesday the 29th of July. That's your one shot. The rest of the time, the setup looks more interesting for a kite than a surfboard.

Rusty.

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