Lighthouse Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at the next few weeks for our local break, Lighthouse (Point Judith). It’s a reef and point setup, exposed to the swell, so it can work when the conditions line up, but this forecast is a bit of a tough one to read.

The water temp is sitting at 70°, which is a touch cooler than the average for this time of year—nothing crazy, just a little bit of a chill in the air on the paddle out.

Right out of the gate, we’ve got a little window of hope. Friday the 31st of July, the morning is looking like the best of a pretty average bunch. The swell is coming in at 3 ft from the SSE, with a period of 9 seconds, giving us a moderate wave energy (132). The wind is light and cross-offshore, which means the surface will be clean. The waves are surfable, but honestly, it’s ordinary. The energy is there, but it’s not going to blow your mind. That’s our only real nod for a paddle in the first few days.

The rest of that Friday and into the weekend, the wind swings cross-shore and picks up, the swell drops, and the conditions get messy. Saturday and Sunday are a write-off with small, weak waves and bumpy surface. Monday the 3rd of August, the wind is howling from the SSW at 22 mph in the afternoon, and while the swell jumps to 6 ft from the S, the cross-chop is going to be lumpy and ugly. It’s a kite-surfing kind of day, not a paddle-surfing one.

Tuesday the 4th of August morning sees a bigger pulse of swell—6 ft from the SSW, with a solid period of 8 seconds and strong wave energy (682). But the wind is cross-onshore from the ENE, which kills the quality. It’s a marginal call, and the wave comment says it’s questionable. There’s a lot of water moving, but it’s not going to be clean.

We then hit a long, dry spell. From Wednesday the 5th of August all the way through to Sunday the 9th of August, the surf is poor. Small swells, weak energy, and cross-shore or cross-offshore winds that just don’t clean it up. The waves are around 2 ft to 4 ft, but the periods are short—6 or 7 seconds—so it’s just weak, choppy slop. There’s a gap of about five days where there’s genuinely nothing worth paddling for.

Then, on Monday the 10th of August, we get a bit of a pulse. The morning has 6 ft of swell from the S, with a 9-second period, and the wave energy is strong (538). The wind is light and cross-shore from the S. It’s another marginal call, with the wave comment saying the tide or conditions are questionable. The afternoon stays similar, with the wind shifting to ENE and cross-onshore. It’s still not a standout, but it’s the most energy we’ve seen in a while.

Tuesday the 11th of August morning is a tease. The swell is down to 3 ft from the S, but the wind is completely glassy—dead calm, zero wind. That’s a major positive for clean waves, but the swell is small and the period is short (7 seconds), so it’s not going to be powerful. The energy is moderate (111). It’s a surfable morning, but you’ll be hunting for a waist-high wave that breaks okay.

The rest of the second week is pretty grim. From Tuesday afternoon through to Saturday the 15th of August, the swell drops off to nothing—1 ft to 2 ft—with weak energy and cross-shore or onshore winds. The period is short, 6 to 9 seconds, but the size just isn’t there. It’s a flat spell for the most part.

So, the truth is, there’s no true standout in this 16-day window. The best on offer is probably the Friday the 31st of July morning, for the clean conditions and the moderate energy, or the glassy Tuesday the 11th of August morning, if you’re desperate for a paddle. But neither of them are going to be remembered. This is a tough stretch for Lighthouse. Keep the board waxed, but don’t expect much.

Rusty.

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