Rehoboth Main Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Right, let’s have a look at what’s on offer here for the next couple of weeks. I’ll be honest with you, straight up: the forecast is a tough one for us at Rehoboth Main. We’re looking at a long stretch of tiny, weak waves and a lot of wind, so don’t get your hopes up for anything epic.

The water is sitting at a warm 78°F, which is a touch warmer than normal for this time of year, so at least the wait won’t be a cold one.

The whole 16-day run starts with a bit of a dud. Friday the 14th has a tiny 0.7ft lump from the ESE with a long period of 9 seconds, but it’s just too small to do anything with. The wind is flat calm in the morning, glassy, but there’s just no energy (combined energy of only 11). That’s pretty much the story for the first week. We get a few cleaner windows on the Monday and Tuesday – Monday morning is glassy with a 2ft swell from the SSE, and Tuesday afternoon turns glassy again with a 1ft SE swell – but the swell is weak and the period is short. It’s honest-to-goodness flat spell, with a few days of nothing really rideable. The biggest issue is the lack of size; nothing gets above 3ft until the very end of the run, and that’s accompanied by a 19 mph cross-onshore wind on the Sunday afternoon, making it a choppy, blown-out mess.

The first real glimmer of hope, and I mean a glimmer, comes on Thursday the 20th in the morning. We get a 3ft swell from the south with a short period of 5 seconds, but the wind is a clean cross-offshore from the NNW at 9 mph. The combined energy (56) is still weak, but it’s the cleanest we’ve seen. It’s "surfable waves but very ordinary conditions" – you’ll be fighting for a few small shoulders, but at least it won’t be a washing machine. The crowds are "always" here, so expect company on the small stuff.

After that, we slide back into small, weak surf until the very end of the forecast. The last couple of days in August show a slight uptick. On the 28th, we get a 2ft SE swell with a 10-second period, and a strong 16 mph cross-offshore wind from the NNW. The combined energy climbs to 91, which is still weak but better than the single digits. The same pattern holds for the 29th, with a 2ft easterly swell and clean cross-offshore winds, pushing the combined energy to 101 (weak to moderate). That’s probably the best we’ll manage – small, clean, but not really a standout.

For the best of a bad lot, I’d point you to the morning of Thursday the 20th of August for the cleanest conditions, or the morning of Friday the 28th of August for the slightly stronger, cleaner swell. But honestly, neither is a true standout. The swell is too small for any real power, and the direction is mostly onshore or cross-onshore, which doesn’t match the optimum east swell this spot needs. The lack of any consistent size means this is a kite-surfing week if the wind picks up, not a paddle-surfing one.

The outlook is bleak, but it’s not unusual for the area. The models can change, and a bit of luck might bring a pulse of energy. For now, keep the board in the car and watch the horizon.

Rusty.

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