Refugio State Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Right, folks, Rusty here. Let's have a look at what's on the table for the next couple of weeks.

Alright, it's a quiet stretch ahead. The whole 16-day window is pretty tame, with nothing that gets the heart racing. The swell is small and the winds are mostly light, but the direction is rarely perfect. We're looking at a long run of marginal conditions, with a few sessions that might just be worth a paddle if you're desperate for a splash.

The pick of the bunch, if you can call it that, is Refugio State Beach. It’s a beach and point setup that's fairly consistent but it's often crowded, so don't expect to have it to yourself. The water temp is about average for this time of year.

Let's walk through it. Saturday the 8th kicks off with a tiny 2ft SSW swell, but with a super long 17-second period. That's a groundswell, which brings some energy (347 combined energy), but for a beach break that long period can make it break a bit straight. Morning is okay with a light offshore, but the surf is marginal. The afternoon turns cross-onshore and it's a write-off.

Sunday the 9th and Monday the 10th are more of the same: 2ft to 2ft SSW swell, period dropping from 15 to 13 seconds, and light onshore or cross-onshore winds. The wave energy is weak (230 to 283 combined energy). It's just not doing much.

Tuesday the 11th is a bust with poor surf. Wednesday the 12th and Thursday the 13th don't get any better, with small 2ft to 2ft SSW swell and light cross-onshore winds. The energy is still weak.

Friday the 14th has a slight uptick in energy (487 combined energy) on a 2ft SSW swell with a 19-second period, but the wind is light cross-onshore, keeping it messy. Saturday the 15th shows a similar story with 3ft to 3ft SSW swell, but the afternoon gets a gentle breeze creating chop.

Now, Sunday the 16th of August is one of the few standouts. The swell is 3ft from the SSW, but the wind swings to a moderate offshore from the NW in the afternoon. That's "clean" conditions, which is a major positive. The period is 15 seconds, so it's a proper groundswell. The energy is moderate (391 combined energy). This is your best bet for a clean-ish wave, but it's still small.

Monday the 17th and Tuesday the 18th are back to marginal, with Tuesday afternoon seeing a weird spike to 5ft but from the WNW with a pathetic 6-second period. That's straight-up windswell with very low energy for its size, and it's not going to be fun.

The rest of the run through to the 23rd of August is just a repeat of the same: small swell, light winds, and marginal conditions. A few afternoons have a light cross-shore or cross-offshore breeze, which is better than onshore, but the swell is just too small to get excited about.

So, to wrap it up: the morning of Saturday the 8th is a maybe, but honestly, the only real time to consider is the afternoon of Sunday the 16th of August at Refugio State Beach, where you'll get clean but small 3ft SSW groundswell. Don't expect a classic, but it's the best of a quiet bunch.

Rusty.

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