North Wildwood Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let’s talk about the surf in the North Wildwood area. We’re looking at a pretty flat stretch ahead, so brace yourselves.

The whole 16-day window is a bit of a bummer for paddle surfing. We start on Sunday, July 12th, and there’s just nothing doing for days on end. The first few days, from the 12th through to the 19th, are a complete write-off. The swell is tiny, mostly around 0.3ft to 2ft, with short-period wind swell that has no power. The combined swell energy is barely reaching 52 (weak), and even that is on Monday afternoon the 13th. Winds are messy, with onshores and cross-shore breezes. You’d be floating around on a glassy lake, not surfing.

The first slight flicker of life shows up on Monday, July 20th, but it’s still a tough call. Conditions are described as "surfable waves but very ordinary" in the morning with a 3ft swell from the south. The winds are light and cross-offshore, so the surface might be clean, but the swell period is only 5 seconds – that’s all mush. By the afternoon, the swell jumps to 5ft, but the wind swings cross-onshore, and it gets choppy. That afternoon, the combined energy hits 147 (moderate), but with those winds and short period, it’s not going to be a fun paddle.

The only real stand-out window is the morning of Monday, July 20th, and even that’s a stretch. If you are desperate, head to North Wildwood itself. This is a sandbar break that is fairly consistent and works best on an ESE swell. We have a S swell at 3ft, so it’s not optimal, but with light, cross-offshore winds, the surface will be glassy and clean. It’s a beginner-friendly break, so the 3ft won’t be an issue. Just be ready for the crowds – it’s an "often" crowded spot. Water temperature is 73°F, which is about average for this time of year, so no surprises there.

From Tuesday the 21st onwards, it’s back to small, weak surf with messy winds. The swell stays below 5ft, and the period never gets above 7 seconds. The whole thing fizzles out again. The second week is just grim: tiny waves (1.0ft to 2ft), short periods, and mostly onshore or cross-shore winds. There’s a single morning on Thursday, July 23rd, with a 2ft SSW swell and clean conditions, but it’s small and weak with a 4-second period. Not worth the drive.

Overall, this is a lean period for North Wildwood. It’s a long gap of nearly a week before anything even qualifies as surfable, and then what we get is mediocre. The beach-break setup with these short-period south swells and onshore winds might actually be more interesting for kite-surfing than paddle surfing on most afternoons. Keep your expectations low.

- Rusty

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