The Fort Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Right then, grab a coffee and let’s look at what’s coming up for The Fort. This is a reef break, intermediate-friendly, and it’s exposed to the southwest swell. Over the next 16 days, it’s a tough run. The water temperature is sitting about average for this time of year, so nothing unusual there.

The overall pattern is a long, drawn-out period of small, messy swell with a constant cross or cross-onshore breeze. The combined swell energy is moderate, bouncing around the 400 to 700 mark, but it’s never clean enough to get excited about. The swell is a long-period groundswell from the SW, which is the right direction for this spot, with periods stretching from 14 to 19 seconds, but the wind just won’t cooperate.

We start off Friday, August 28th, with a tiny 2ft SW swell. The morning is a write-off with a cross-on wind, and the afternoon gets worse with a cross breeze and a moderate cross-chop. Saturday the 29th sees a slight bump to 3ft, but the cross wind is moderate to fresh, turning the surface lumpy. Sunday the 30th is slightly better with a 3ft swell and a lighter cross-on breeze, but it’s still not clean. Monday the 31st afternoon looks like the only real highlight in the first week. The wind swings to the south and goes light offshore, with a 3ft SSW swell. The combined energy is moderate (322), and the period is a long 14 seconds. That’s the cleanest window in the whole run, but the swell is small. It’s a marginal window, but for a reef break with that light offshore wind, it might offer a few fun, glassy runners for the intermediate crew.

After that, it’s a grim grind. From Tuesday, September 1st, right through to the end of the second week, the story is the same: swell sizes hover between 2ft and 3ft, with periods dropping to 12-13 seconds, and the wind is almost always a cross-on or cross breeze. The combined energy stays moderate, ranging from 189 to 630, but the quality is consistently poor. There is a brief flicker on Thursday, September 3rd morning with a 3ft SW swell and a 19-second period, but the cross-on wind spoils it. The morning of Wednesday, September 9th also shows a 2ft SW swell with a long 18-second period and light cross-on wind, but it’s again marginal. The best of the second week is probably that Saturday, September 12th morning, with a 3ft SW swell, a 14-second period, and a light cross breeze, but it’s only a marginal offering.

The standout, if you can call it that, is Monday afternoon, August 31st. It’s the only time the wind goes offshore and light. For a reef break, that’s golden, but the swell is small. If you’re an intermediate who loves a clean, small wave, that’s your window. The rest of the run is a washout. The Fort is consistent, but it needs a clean wind window to shine, and it’s just not getting one. For a few days there, with the chop and the fresh wind, it’d be more interesting for a kite surfer than a paddle surfer.

Rusty.

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