Royal Palms State Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, let’s talk about what’s cookin’. Over the next 16 days, we’ve only got one spot on the map: Royal Palms State Beach, a sheltered reef and point that’s real friendly for beginners. But the truth is, the surf is flat-out poor.

Kicking off on Thursday, August 20th, we’ve got a tiny 2ft swell from the SSW, with a 14-second period. That’s a long-period groundswell, which usually means better shape, but the wind is cross-onshore in the morning and straight onshore in the afternoon. The water temp is about normal for the season, nothing wild.

This just keeps repeating. Day after day, it’s the same small stuff – swell from 1ft to 3ft, and almost always with a cross-onshore or onshore breeze. The best mornings are when the wind drops to a whisper, like Thursday, August 27th with a 2ft SSW swell and a light breeze, or Saturday, August 29th with a 2ft SSW swell and near-calm air. But it’s still just weak. The combined swell energy is moderate (around 200 to 350), but it’s all dribble.

There’s a big stretch of nothingness here. No real standout waves. If I had to pick one, it’d be the morning of Saturday, August 29th – that 2ft SSW swell with glassy conditions. But it’s a beginner wave at best. The swell direction is SSW, which is close to the ideal SW, but the size is just too small.

Carrying on through the end of August and into early September, it’s the same grind. The wind is almost always junk. The only slight improvement is Thursday morning, September 3rd, with a 2ft SW swell and a light cross-shore wind, so it’s a little cleaner. Still tiny.

The most energy shows up on Saturday afternoon, August 29th, with a 3ft SSW swell and a combined energy of 454 (strong wave energy). That’s the biggest push of the whole period, but it’s wrecked by a moderate cross-onshore wind making it lumpy. For a setup like this, that’s a day for the kite boarders, not the paddle surfers.

So here it is: a quiet, slow period. Beginners might find something to play with on the smooth mornings, but for everyone else, it’s a waiting game. Forecasts can change, but right now, there’s no reason to rush.

Rusty.

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