Slip Point (Clallam Bay) Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let's talk about the next couple of weeks at Slip Point.

Honestly, I’m looking at a real slow stretch here. For most of these 16 days, the surf just isn’t going to be worth paddling out for. There’s a long gap with hardly anything happening, and when we do see bumps in the water, the wind and conditions are going to mess them up.

Let's start at the beginning. The first few days – all the way through the early part of next week – are a write-off. We’ve got tiny swell, mostly around 1 ft to 2 ft from the west, with short periods of 8 to 11 seconds. The wind is mostly cross-on or onshore from the west or northwest, leaving the surface choppy and messy. The combined wave energy is low, in the range of 42 to 79. The 1 ft swell on Sunday the 5th has a touch of cross-shore wind, but it’s just too small to do anything with. It’s basically a full week and a half of poor surf conditions, with days like Monday the 6th through Thursday the 10th being completely flat with zero energy. It’s a tough run.

There is a tiny glimmer on Monday the 13th, with a glassy morning and a 2 ft west swell, but the period is only 8 seconds, and the energy is a weak 48. It’s a pretty picture with no substance.

The first real push of energy finally shows up on the afternoon of Tuesday the 14th. We get a 2 ft swell from the west with a 12-second period – that's a bit more like a groundswell – and the energy jumps to 138. But the wind is a stiff onshore breeze from the WNW at 12 mph, so the surface will be blown out. Still labeled as poor surf, so not a goer.

On the 17th, we start to see a bit more size. Friday morning the 17th has a 4 ft swell from the west, period of 9 seconds, with a light wind. The combined energy is 186 – finally some moderate power. But by the afternoon, it's cross-onshore again. The weekend of the 18th and 19th keeps that 3 ft to 2 ft west-northwest swell coming with consistent energy in the 135 to 141 range, but again, the wind stays onshore or cross-onshore from the northwest.

For an advanced spot like Slip Point (Clallam Bay), these conditions are just frustrating. We need that northwest offshore direction, and we're getting squashed by the opposite. There’s no standout here, no day I’d even call promising. You’re better off waiting for a proper swell and a change in the wind pattern. This is just a stale, poor run.

- Rusty

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