Refugio State Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s get into it for Refugio State Beach.

Straight up, it’s a tough stretch of small, marginal surf. The opening days are a bit of a write-off for anything decent. The first real sniff of action comes Monday morning, September 7th, with a 5ft south swell, but it’s a short period 13-second groundswell hitting with a cross-on breeze. The wave energy is moderate (855) but the quality is just not there. That cross-on wind will mess with the shape. The rest of Monday and into Tuesday is a loss, with the swell dropping and the wind staying onshore.

We hit a bit of a lull mid-week with tiny waves, but by Thursday afternoon, September 10th, there's a glimmer. The swell is small at 3ft from the SW, but a 16-second period means it has some push. The standout detail here is a clean, cross-offshore wind from the NW. That's the best wind we’ll see all week and will make the small waves glassy. The wave energy is moderate (439).

The real surprise is on the 13th of September, Sunday. The swell picks up to 7ft from the WNW, but the period is a woeful 7 seconds. That’s pure windswell – weak, lumpy, and short. The wave energy is moderate (612), but with a light cross breeze, it might offer the biggest rides of the window, but it won't be pretty. It’s a ones-and-dones kind of session. The water temp is about average for the time of year.

After that, the rest of the outlook is a slow fade into tiny, long-period SW groundswells, but never with the right wind. The 18th and 19th of September look like a total washout. The setup here is a beach and point, but with the wind on it, and the short-period junk, it’s more interesting for the kite surfers than a paddle session.

The highlight of the whole 16 days is definitely Thursday afternoon, September 10th, at Refugio State Beach. That 3ft SW groundswell with the 16-second period and a clean cross-offshore wind will be the only time the waves have any real shape and a smooth face. It’s small, but it’ll be the best quality on offer. After that, the 13th of September (Sunday) offers the biggest, punchiest waves, but it’s messy and short-period. It’s a fickle period, so don’t hold your breath.

Rusty.

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