The Fort Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, ol’ mate Rusty here, checkin’ in with a look ahead for The Fort over the next couple weeks.

Let’s be straight up – it’s a bit of a slow run for The Fort over the next 16 days. There’s no real rippin’ swell, and we’ve got a lot of time where the conditions are just… average. It’s a consistent reef break, but for a good chunk of this outlook, you’re gonna be scratchin’ for a decent wave. The window kicks off from Wednesday the 12th, but honestly, don’t get too excited just yet.

We start with the afternoon of Wednesday the 12th – a tiny 3ft cross-on windswell from the WNW, period a punchy 8 seconds. The water temp is sitting at 58 °F, which is pretty much dead average for this time of year. The combined energy is weak at 280, and the wind is mucking it up. It’s poor surf. Then Thursday the 13th is worse, with only 2ft of swell and cross-onshore breezes. Not worth paddlin’ out.

Now, Friday morning the 14th – that’s your first little window. It’s tiny, only 2ft, but here’s the kicker: the wind goes glassy. A 15-second period groundswell from the SW pokes through, with a combined energy of 288. It’s weak energy, but that glassy surface will make it look better than it has any right to. It’s still a marginal call, but if you’re desperate for a slide on a log, that’s the cleanest you’ll see it this week.

Saturday the 15th morning has a bit more push, with 3ft of SW swell and a 17-second period from the optimum direction. The combined energy hits 462, which starts to feel a little more moderate. The wind is light offshore from the SW, so it could be clean. But the condition notes say it’s marginal due to tide, so you gotta pick your moment. That southwest groundswell with that long period is better for a reef like The Fort anyway.

Sunday the 16th looks similar – 3ft, offshore, another 16-second groundswell. Combined energy is 405, still moderate. Again, marginal because of the tide. You might get a couple clean ones.

Then it’s a long stretch of mediocrity. Monday the 17th, Tuesday the 18th, Wednesday the 19th, Thursday the 20th – wind is mostly cross-shore or cross-onshore, the swell is tiny or choppy. The 18th is notable because the swell jumps to 6ft from the WNW, but it’s messy, period is only 7-8 seconds, and the wind is a fresh 19 mph cross-shore. That’s more of a choppy, blown-out mess. Combined energy was 699, so there’s water moving, but the quality is poor. For a reef setup, that short-period windswell with strong cross-wind is ugly.

Friday the 21st through the end of the outlook (Thursday the 27th) is more of the same. We see waves in the 2ft to 6ft range, but the wind is never really good. Most afternoons have a cross-onshore or cross-shore breeze, and the surf is mostly poor or marginal. The standout in that second week might be the morning of Saturday the 22nd or Sunday the 23rd, with a clean 5ft to 6ft of WNW swell and light offshore wind, but that period is a short 8 seconds. It could be a bit fat and crumbly at a reef.

Honestly, for the whole 16 days, don’t get your hopes up for anything epic. If you’re a kite surfer, those windy, lumpy days on the 18th might look more fun than a surfboard. For the rest of us, the cleanest window is that Friday morning the 14th, or maybe a dawny on the 15th or 16th with the offshore swell. It’s a consistent break, but the forecasts just aren’t offering anything stellar.

Later, Rusty.

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