Middles/Generals Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Right now, Middies/Generals isn’t doing us any favors. The whole 16-day window is a write-off for decent surf, and I’m not going to sugarcoat it. There’s nothing here that’s worth paddling out for.

We start off this Sunday morning, September 13th, with a tiny 3ft of swell from the NNE, but the ENE breeze is putting a chop on it. The energy’s weak at 161, and honestly, it’s just a mess. The afternoon stays poor, too.

Monday and Tuesday stay in the same rut—small, cross-shore winds, and the wave energy's all over the place. The period drops to 8 seconds on Monday, so it’s all short-period junk. Tuesday’s waves are barely knee-high at 1ft in the morning. We’re just waiting for something to happen.

Wednesday the 16th starts showing a bit of push—4ft in the morning, with moderate energy at 337. But the wind stays cross, so it’s lumpy. The afternoon, though, there’s a glimpse of a long-period SSW swell at 18 seconds and the energy jumps to 732. But with the NE cross-breeze, it’s still not clean. That long period is too straight for this setup anyway.

Thursday the 17th is the first real size day—7ft—but it’s short-period (7-10 seconds) and the wind is strong and cross. The energy’s up there (532 to 966), but the quality is zero. It’s a washing machine. Not worth the fight.

Friday the 18th drops back to 3ft, still with that long SSW period (17s), but the energy is high (1128). The risk of thunderstorms and a fresh cross-shore breeze means it stays marginal. Honestly, that’s not a yes.

Then we hit a rough patch. From Saturday the 19th through Monday the 21st, the swell builds back to 6ft-7ft, but it’s all short-period ENE windswell, and the winds are cross-onshore and messy. That’s not surf; that’s just chop. The energy is moderate to strong (624-976), but with the quality this bad, it doesn’t matter.

Tuesday the 22nd stays at 5ft, same ENE short-period, same fresh cross-shore winds. No good.

Wednesday the 23rd sees the biggest energy spike of the window, hitting 1560, with 7ft of east swell. But the period is only 10-11 seconds, and the wind is fresh and cross. It’s still poor. That energy is just raw power with no shape.

Thursday the 24th keeps 7-8ft on the table, short-period, strong cross-shore winds. Still no good. Friday the 25th the wind turns cross-onshore and strong, with 6-6ft of short-period ENE. That’s just blown-out. No good.

Saturday the 26th drops slightly to 5ft in the morning, but the wind is fresh cross-onshore. The afternoon has a longer period (14s) from the SSW, but it’s still lumpy. Still not clean.

Sunday the 27th is the last real push—7-7ft of NE swell, short period, fresh cross-shore winds. It’s big, but it’s messy. And Monday the 28th keeps 5-6ft with the same story. Cross-on, lumpy, and poor.

So, look, there’s nothing here that’s surfable. The water’s warm, around 81°, which is about normal for this time of year, so that’s not an issue. But the wind is just never right, and the swell is either too small, too short-period, or too blown out. On the days with size, like Thursday the 17th, the 20th, or the 23rd, the conditions are so rough that it’s really only interesting if you’re a kite surfer, not a paddle surfer.

This is just a blank run, plain and simple. It can happen. The forecasts change, but as it stands, I’d save your energy. There’s no standout day in this window. Keep the board in the car, but don’t get your hopes up.

Stay salty,
Rusty

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