Port Orford Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Gotta be straight with you—looking at Port Orford for the next couple weeks, the surf is mostly a tough sell. The first ten days or so are pretty flat and poor, and even when something shows up, it’s not amazing. The water is absolutely freezing right now, at 51°F, which is a massive 7°F colder than normal for this time of year. That’s very unusual, so you’ll be needing the thickest suit you’ve got.

The pattern starts off, well, it doesn’t really start. Tuesday the 18th through to the 23rd is mostly poor, with only a couple of afternoons where the conditions get to “surfable but very ordinary.” There’s a tiny window on Thursday the 20th afternoon and Friday the 21st afternoon where the wind goes light or gentle offshore, and we see some clean lines. The swell sits around 3ft to 3ft from the WNW, with a long period of 11 seconds, so it’s a proper groundswell. At Port Orford, that low-energy, long-period stuff can be tricky, but the combined energy is still weak (344 and 216). It’s rideable for a patient longboarder, but nothing to get excited about.

The following week, things start to look a little more interesting, but only for experienced surfers. From Monday the 24th morning, we get a pulse of short-period NNW swell at 5ft and 7 seconds, with consistent offshore winds from the north. The combined energy jumps to a moderate 410, and the forecast actually says “expect good surf conditions” for the morning. That’s the one standout in the whole run. The swell direction (NNW) isn’t ideal for a sheltered spot that wants NW, but the clean offshore breeze will make the most of it. It’s 5ft, so it’s getting a bit much for beginners, but decent for intermediates.

After that morning, it fades quickly and we go back to ordinary, marginal, and poor surf for days. The afternoon of Monday the 24th switches to a tiny 2ft SW groundswell with a very long 18-second period, but the energy is moderate (398) and the wind is still offshore. That long period at a beach setup will probably just look fat and wonky, not your friend.

The end of the month into September brings a couple more pulses of NNW swell (6ft to 7ft) but with very short periods and strong offshore winds. On Thursday the 27th and Friday the 28th the swell gets over 7ft with a short period, and the energy jumps up (544 and 480), but the quality is marginal at best. This kind of short-period, windy swell on a beach setup is more interesting for kite surfing than a standard paddle session.

The very tail end, Monday 31st August and Tuesday 1st September, shows a long-period WNW groundswell (4ft, 13-14 seconds) with moderate energy in the 456-728 range and offshore winds. It’s promising but still only considered marginal. Given the shelter here, that long-period groundswell might actually wrap in okay if you know where to sit, but with the crowds often turning up at Port Orford, you’ll want to be early. Because the whole run is so inconsistent, this is pretty normal for the area—don’t expect much, and you won’t be disappointed.

Rusty, signing off.

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