Portwrinkle Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s have a proper look at what Portwrinkle’s got lined up for us over the next couple of weeks. Straight up, it’s a tough stretch. This little reef setup is going to be mostly flat or junk for days on end, so patience is the name of the game.

We start off pretty grim. Wednesday the 12th is a write-off – we’ve got a tiny 1ft swell from the southwest, but a stiff cross-shore breeze is just trashing it, making for a crummy, choppy mess. Thursday the 13th morning shows a glimmer of hope with a 2ft WSW swell and a bit more period, and the wind swings light offshore from the northwest. The surf report says "clean", but let’s be real, it’s still only 2ft, and with combined energy at just 90 (weak), you’ll be scratching for scraps. It’s surfable but very ordinary. Thursday afternoon the wind picks up and it goes back to poor.

Friday the 14th through to Tuesday the 20th of August is a long, dry spell. We’re looking at tiny swell (0.3ft to 1ft) and even when the wind is clean offshore, there’s just zero energy. A couple of days in there have some longer-period groundswell pulses, but at 0.3ft to 0.7ft, it’s not enough to break. The combined energy figures are in the single digits or low tens. Don’t bother paddling out.

Things get a little more interesting late in the window. On Thursday the 20th, we finally see a combined energy of 151 (moderate) on the morning with a 3ft swell from the WSW, but the wind is a fresh cross-offshore from the northwest at 22 mph. That’s clean, but it’s also strong and it’s cross-off, so it might be a bit blown out and lumpy. Still, it’s the first real pulse of energy in a week.

Then, on Saturday the 22nd of August, we get a spike. The afternoon sees a 5ft swell from the southwest, but the period is only 5 seconds – that’s short-period, wind-choppy junk. And the wind is cross-shore, so it’ll be a mess. The combined energy is 143 (moderate), but poor quality.

The biggest event is Thursday the 27th of August. The morning shows a 7ft swell from the WSW with a solid 10-second period, and the combined energy jumps to 750 (strong). That’s the real deal in terms of size. Problem is, the wind is a fresh cross-shore from the WSW at 19 mph, which will put a nasty lump on it. At over 8ft, this is expert territory only, and with that cross-chop, it’s going to be a battle.

The best on offer, if you’re desperate: Honestly, there isn’t a true standout. If I had to pick a window, the Thursday the 20th morning has the best combination of clean conditions and a bit of energy, but it’s not big and that wind is strong. For a more raw power session, the Thursday the 27th morning has the size, but only for experts who don’t mind messy, lumpy conditions. It’s a lean forecast. Surfers here know it tends not to stay this poor forever, but this is a stubborn run of bad luck.

Stay patient. Rusty.

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