Pontaillac Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, let’s get into it. This is Rusty.

Well, I gotta be straight with you — the next 16 days here at Pontaillac are a real bummer for surf. We’re looking at a long, dry spell with hardly any rideable energy. The best I can say is there’s a tiny window of cleaner conditions on the Saturday morning of the 1st of August, but even then it’s tiny surf.

Right now, through the end of July and into the first week of August, the swell is just weak. We’re talking ankle to knee-high slop at best, with combined wave energy barely ticking over in the double digits — mostly 20–80 (weak energy). The water temp is sitting around 70°, which is about average for the time of year, so nothing weird there.

The standout? If you’re desperate, the Saturday morning on the 1st of August is your best bet. The wind is light offshore from the NE, so the surface will be clean. But don’t get excited. The swell is only 2 ft from the NW with a short period of 6 seconds — that’s weak, choppy, and barely breaking. It’s really only for beginners messing about on foamies. Crowds are possible too, so it won’t be empty.

After that, it’s a long stretch of nothing. From Sunday the 2nd all the way through to the 14th of August, the swell stays tiny — 0.3 ft to 2 ft — and the wind is mostly onshore or cross-onshore, making it choppy and messy. There’s a couple of mornings on the 7th and 8th of August with clean offshore winds, but again, the swell is just too small to bother with. The combined energy drops to 21 (weak energy) on the 7th and 53 (weak energy) on the 8th. Not worth paddling out for.

The period from the 10th to the 14th of August is particularly hopeless — swell height drops to 0.3 ft–1 ft, and even though there are a few clean windows with offshore or cross-offshore winds, the energy is next to nothing, like 2 to 34 (weak energy). So, honestly, this is a stretch to leave the board in the car.

Because Pontaillac is inconsistent and exposed to the west, these blank runs are more normal for the area. It tends not to stay poor for long, but this time it’s stubborn. Forecasts can change, so keep an eye out, but as it stands, there’s no real surf to get excited about.

Rusty.

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