Port Orford Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let's have a look at what Port Orford has cooking for the next couple of weeks.

Honestly, it’s a bit of a rough start. For the first week and a half we are looking at mostly marginal conditions or just poor surf, nothing to get too excited about. There is a lot of north wind blowing, keeping things clean but the swell just isn’t lining up for this sheltered break. The water is sitting at 53°F which is much colder than normal for this time of year, so you're going to want a good thick wetsuit.

We do see a bit of a pulse on Sunday the 5th, with some 8ft to 8ft NW to NNW swell rolling in. The energy is moderate (541 to 861) but the period is a short 7 seconds. That’s windswell, not a proper groundswell, so it’s going to be choppy and weak, and with the stiff north wind it will be a battle. That size is getting a bit much for beginners but the real issue is quality – it’s just not going to shape up well.

The real standout is much further out, on Wednesday the 15th. That’s the day to circle. We get a very long period 20-21 second WNW groundswell pushing in. The energy jumps up strong (746 to 903), and it’s clean. The swell size stays manageable at 2ft to 3ft, perfect for your shortboard or a fish. The wind goes light, and actually switches to cross-offshore on the afternoon, which at Port Orford could mean some nice lined up walls. This is your best shot at something good in the whole window. It’ll be pretty inconsistent being such a long period swell, but the quality will be there for anyone who waits.

Thursday the 16th and Friday the 17th still have that long period energy hanging around (16 to 18 seconds) with stronger energy (over 1000) and a bit more size at 3ft to 4ft, but the north wind picks back up to a fresh breeze. It’ll be clean on the surface, but the bigger wind might close out the face on the paddle out. Worth a look, especially if you’re a stronger paddler.

All in all, wait for the 15th. That’s the call.
Rusty.

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