Port Orford Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Right, grab a coffee, ‘cause we gotta talk about Port Orford. I’ve been staring at the charts all morning and, to be brutally honest with you, the next couple of weeks are a bit of a mixed bag. We’ve got some serious wind, a long flat spell, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel that looks like it could be worth the wait.

Right now, for the immediate future, it’s all about the northwest wind. It’s blowing offshore, which is keeping the surface clean, that’s the one saving grace. The first day, Friday the 31st, we’ve got a weak 3 ft of west-northwest swell with a middling 9-second period. The energy’s weak, and the spots are just too inconsistent and sheltered to do anything with it. It’s a bit of a skunk.

We go through the weekend and into the start of next week, and the swell kicks up. By Sunday morning, we’re looking at 5 ft, and it climbs steadily from there. Monday the 3rd sees it push up to 7 ft, and by Monday afternoon, we’re at 8 ft with the period dropping to a short, weak 7 seconds. The energy is picking up, but it’s all short-period windswell. It’s going to be lumpy, closed-out, and with those northerly winds gusting at 25 mph, it’s going to be a battle. This isn’t really for paddling, honestly. It’s a beach setup that looks like it’s going to be blown-out and messy, and probably more fun for the kite crew than us wave riders. The conditions are just “poor” and “marginal,” and if you're a beginner, that 8 ft stuff on Monday afternoon is way over your head.

This messy, onshore-ish slop continues through the 6th and 7th, with the swell staying over 7 ft, but the energy stays moderate and the period is still short. It’s all just a bit ordinary, you know? You’d be fighting for a grovelly close-out at best. The wind stays fresh and offshore for the most part, but the waves themselves are just not cooperating.

Then we hit the wall. From the 8th of August, the swell just drops off a cliff. The 8th and 9th are poor, and then from the morning of the 9th through the 12th, we have a proper flat spell. There’s just nothing. The swell heights are down between 2 ft and 3 ft. It’s a solid 4-5 days of nothing to surf. That’s just how it is here sometimes; a real blank run. But don’t lose hope, because things change.

The real story, the one that has my attention, is next week, specifically Friday the 14th of August. That morning, we finally see something with some bark on it. A 6 ft northwest groundswell with a much longer 13-second period arrives, and the energy jumps to a very solid level. That’s our standout. That is a real swell. The direction is right, the period is right, and even though it’s still a bit below the optimum for the sheltered spots around Port Orford, it’s a proper swell. The winds are still fresh offshore, which is perfect, so it should hold up and give us some clean, proper waves. It’s a week and a half out, so don't book the day off yet, but this is the one to circle.

The afternoon of that Friday and into Saturday the 15th, the swell stays in the mix, but it’s on the way down and the period backs off. So, to sum it up: we’ve got a week of messy, blown-out conditions that never really get good, then a few days of nothing, and then one promising pulse around the 14th. Get your gear ready for that one. Let’s just hope the wind plays ball.

Rusty.

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