Royal Palms State Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Gotta be straight with you – the next 16 days are looking pretty bleak for a proper paddle. We’ve only got one spot on the radar, Royal Palms State Beach, and it’s a sheltered reef and point that just doesn’t have the energy to get excited about.

The water is running at 72°, which is a wild 7° warmer than usual for this time of year – that’s very unusual, feels more like a bath than the ocean.

We’re kicking off on Monday, August 3rd, with a tiny 1ft SW groundswell at 13 seconds, but the wind is a cross-on 9 mph from the W. The combined energy is weak (102), and it’s just poor. This pattern doesn’t let up. Tuesday and Wednesday stay at that same pathetic 1ft, with light onshore winds and energy still barely scraping triple digits. It’s a tough start.

Thursday the 6th and Friday the 7th see a shift. The swell period jumps to 19 seconds on Friday, with a bigger combined energy of 234, but it’s still only 1ft from the SSW. That long period groundswell would be better for a point or reef, but the size just isn’t there. Winds remain light and cross-onshore, so it’s clean but tiny.

The second week starts to look a little more promising on the energy front, but not for wave height. From August 11th onwards, the combined energy regularly hits 200-300, with the biggest spike on the 14th afternoon hitting 313, and then 351 on the 15th afternoon. The swell height finally bumps up to 2ft-3ft from the SSW, with periods around 15-16 seconds. That’s a decent long-period groundswell direction and energy, and the mornings often have light offshore winds from the WSW. However, the afternoons get shredded by a moderate 12 mph cross-on westerly, making it choppy. The mornings on the 15th and 16th offer the cleanest opportunity with that 3ft swell and light wind, but it’s still only a small wave for a sheltered spot. This is a rare, inconsistent break, so don’t expect much.

Honestly, for the whole 16 days, there’s no standout session. The best you can hope for is a glassy morning around August 15th or 16th with a waist-high, long-period SSW groundswell. It’s tiny, but it’s the only window with a bit of shape and clean conditions. The rest is a write-off for paddle surfing – the afternoons with 12 mph+ cross-on winds and small, choppy waves are more suited to a kite than a surfboard.

Rusty.

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