Sunset Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here again, let’s talk this stretch in feet and degrees.

To be straight with you, the outlook for the next two weeks is pretty flat and disappointing. There’s no real fire in the water, just a long run of weak, small surf that’s barely worth the walk down the beach, except for maybe a couple of mornings that might give you a rideable ripple.

Tuesday morning the 11th at Sunset Beach is the first chance. The water is a touch warmer than usual for this time of year, sitting at about 70°. The swell is a tiny 2ft from the SSW with a long period of 13 seconds, so the lines are clean but there’s no real power. The combined energy is weak at 180. The wind is light offshore from the SW, which keeps the surface glassy, but the surf is poor at this size. That long period also means it might break a bit straight on the beach.

The rest of that week and into the weekend is more of the same story. Swell stays between 2ft and 2ft, with periods mostly from 15 to 19 seconds, from the SW. The energy picks up a little, hitting moderate numbers up to 562 on Saturday afternoon the 15th, but the winds get cross-onshore on many afternoons, chopping it up. The mornings with light offshore winds are the only real window, but the size is still tiny. It’s all “poor surf conditions” with a couple of days marked as marginal.

The following week, from Monday the 17th onward, stays quiet. The swell drops to as low as 1ft by the weekend of the 22nd and 23rd. Winds are light and sometimes offshore in the mornings, but the energy is weak, around 150 to 200. Even the last few days around the 25th and 26th show a slight bump to about 3ft, but the winds turn cross-onshore, keeping the surface messy. The energy climbs back to moderate (up to 578 on the 26th afternoon), but it’s still a long period swell and the wind spoils it.

The honest truth: there is no standout session in this whole forecast. The best you get is a small, clean morning with a marginal call, but you’ll be fighting for a 2ft wave. For beginners, it’s never too big to handle (stays well under 5ft), but it’s also not clean enough to be fun. If you’re into kite surfing, those afternoons with cross-onshore wind and a little bit of energy might be worth a look. But for paddling into waves? I’d wait for a better swell. This kind of quiet run is pretty typical for the area when the swell direction is off.

Rusty.

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