Port Orford Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let's have a look at what's on the table for the Port Orford stretch over the next couple of weeks.

Right off the bat, I gotta say, it's a tough start. We're looking at a pretty bleak run of surf for the first week or so. The water is sitting at a chilly 50° at the moment, which is a whopping 7° colder than normal for this time of year – that's a serious anomaly, so you'll want a thick wetsuit and booties if you're even thinking about a paddle.

The first real chance of anything rideable kicks off on Saturday, July 11th. We've got some waist-high swell from the WNW, around 4 ft, with a 10-second period. The wind is howling from the NNW at 9 mph, giving us a cross-off breeze that'll keep the surface clean. But the energy is weak, barely getting to 284 (moderate at best), and the overall quality is very ordinary. It's surfable, but only just. Things don't improve much on Sunday the 12th; the swell drops and the wind picks up to 19 mph, making it a messy, poor session.

This pattern of small, wind-affected swell and poor conditions hangs around until mid-week. The "best" of a bad bunch is Monday the 13th morning, with a 5 ft swell from the NNW, but it's a short-period 8-second windswell and the wind is still a problem. The energy is a bit better at 344, but still not worth rushing for.

Then we hit a real transition. From Wednesday the 15th afternoon, the swell starts to build, but it's a messy, steep-angled NNW windswell with a period of just 6 seconds. The combined energy jumps to 757 (strong), but it's a lumpy, onshore mess. This is prime kite-surfing territory, not paddle surfing. The waves are too blown out and the quality is marginal.

The real talking point, and the only standout in this entire forecast, is the spell from Thursday, July 16th through to Sunday, July 19th. The swell really cranks up, with solid 8 ft to 8 ft sets from the NNW powering in. The combined energy is massive, hitting values like 1493 and 1218 (very strong). This is proper, expert-level stuff. The period is only 8 seconds, so it's a powerful but short-interval windswell, which will be dumping hard on the beach. For a sheltered spot like Port Orford, that size with a straight offshore wind from the north will be fast and heavy. It's not for the faint of heart. The crowds are listed as "often", so expect a packed lineup if it's on.

After that, the swell slowly backs off into the following week, but the wind stays relentless. Monday the 20th and Tuesday the 21st of July are still holding good size (7 ft to 8 ft) with strong energy, but the quality is still "marginal" – mostly because the wind is just too strong to keep it clean. By Wednesday the 22nd, the swell drops back to 5 ft, and the last few days of the forecast window are back to small and poor.

So, to sum it up: the first week is a write-off. The standout is the burst of solid, powerful NNW swell from the 16th to the 19th. It's big, it's strong, and it's clean offshore, but only for the experts. If you're an advanced surfer with a big-wave board, that's your window. For everyone else, this forecast is a long, hard look at an empty ocean.

Rusty.

Read more