Portwrinkle Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, folks, let's be straight with you. Rusty here, and I’ve been staring at the charts for the Portwrinkle area, and it's a tough one to call. The honest truth is, for the next two weeks, this stretch of coast is looking mostly flat and uninspiring. We're talking about a real desert of swell, with only a couple of fleeting moments that might get your heart pumping, but even then, you’ll need to be patient.

The first real chance of anything even remotely surfable doesn't show up until Tuesday the 25th of August. Up until then, it's a whole lot of nothing. The water temperature is sitting at 66°F around the 14th, which is a solid 4°F warmer than normal for this time of year, so you can leave the winter wetsuit at home, but you’ll be doing more floating than surfing.

Let's get into it. The only break worth a mention is the local reef, Portwrinkle. It's a fairly exposed spot that likes a good SW swell, but it's inconsistent and can be crowded. For the first week and a half, the swell is tiny, the period is short, and the energy is weak. We're talking waves of 0.7ft to 2ft with combined energy values in the single digits (5–27) for most of the time. The wind is often cross-off or offshore, so conditions would be clean, but there's just no ocean energy to work with. It's a no-go.

Now, the standout, and I do mean the only real standout in the entire 16-day window, is the Tuesday the 25th of August. The morning shows a clean 4ft SSW groundswell with a period of 5 seconds, giving a combined energy of 115 (moderate). The wind is from the NW at 12 mph, coming cross-off, which will keep the surface clean. The afternoon picks up a bit, with the swell rising to 5ft from the SSW, and the combined energy jumps to 295 (moderate). The wind stays cross-off from the WNW at 12 mph. This is the best we’re going to see. It’s not huge, but it’s a pulse of real energy. The period is still short, though, so don't expect long, lined-up walls. It’s a short-period swell, so it’ll be a bit lumpy and won't hold its shape as well as a longer period groundswell would. Still, it's the only time the energy is even moderate.

The week after that peters out again into tiny, weak swells, though the 28th of August has a clean 4ft SW swell with good NW winds, but the energy is again moderate. The 29th of August morning actually looks glassy with a 2ft SW swell, but the combined energy is only 83 (weak). The 29th afternoon, however, sees a jump to 8ft from the south, but with strong onshore winds from the SW, it's a write-off. That size with onshore wind is just a messy, blown-out slop.

So, the bottom line: if you're desperate, mark your calendar for Tuesday the 25th of August at Portwrinkle. The morning looks cleanest, but the afternoon has more size. Be prepared for crowds, as this spot often gets busy. For the rest of the time, you're better off finding a different hobby for a couple of weeks.

Rusty.

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