The Fort Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, this is Rusty. Let's talk about The Fort.

Overall, we're looking at a pretty grim stretch here. The pattern is stubbornly consistent: a cross-shore wind that just won't let up, and swell that's mostly short-period and weak. There's a lot of chop and lumpy conditions in the forecast. It's going to be a tough slog for the next week and a half, with no real clean windows to speak of for a proper paddle session.

The Fort is a reef break, and it usually needs a good SW groundswell to really fire. The optimum swell direction is from the SW, and we do get that, but the wind is the enemy. The water temperature is about average for this time of year.

We start off on Friday the 24th of July. The swell is small, around 2ft to 2ft from the SW. It's a very long period groundswell at 24 seconds, which means plenty of energy between sets, but the cross-shore wind is spoiling it. The combined energy is moderate (583), but the surf is poor. That's the story for the whole weekend and into the next week. The swell is in the 3ft range, but it's always fighting a cross-shore breeze, leaving the surface lumpy and uninviting.

By the 31st of July, we get a slight improvement. The wind drops to a light breeze from the west, and the swell is 3ft from the SSW. The combined energy hits 812 (moderate), and the conditions are "marginal" rather than outright poor. This is the best we're going to see, but it's still not a stand-out. It's a light cross-onshore, so it'll be a little choppy.

The first week of August is a write-off. The swell bumps up to 7ft on the 1st of August, but it's a short-period windswell from the WNW with a period of only 8 seconds, and the wind is cross-shore. It's a big, messy, and unappealing wall of chop. This is more of a kite-surfing setup than a paddle session. The energy is moderate (910), but the quality is terrible.

The only real flicker of hope comes on the 5th of August. The morning shows a 7ft swell from the WNW with a period of 9 seconds, and the combined energy is strong (946). The wind is a moderate cross-shore, so the conditions are still only "marginal." It's a big, powerful, but messy lump. Definitely for the experts only, and even then, it's a gamble.

The outlook then fades out into weak, small swells of 2ft to 2ft by the 8th of August. There's no stand-out session in this entire 16-day window. The Fort is just not cooperating.

Rusty.

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