The Fort Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, this is Rusty comin' at ya from the beach. Let's be straight with you, the outlook for The Fort over the next 16 days is a bit of a tough one. We've got a solid, consistent swell direction from the Southwest, which is exactly what this reef setup likes to see, and the water temp is sitting right where it should be for this time of year, nothing wild. But the problem? The wind. It's just not playin' ball for the most part.

We start off on Tuesday morning, the 21st of July, and this is your one real chance to get a decent session in. The Fort is waking up to a glassy 3ft southwest swell with a cracking 14-second period. That's proper groundswell energy, and with the combined energy sitting at a solid moderate 398, you can feel it in the water. The wind is a light 3 mph from the south-southwest, which is basically glassy. The report says "expect good surf conditions," and I can't argue with that. This is the standout. It's going to be clean, with well-shaped lines from that optimum swell direction. Just keep in mind, because it's a consistent reef break, crowds are possible, so get out there early.

After that Tuesday morning window, the wind turns ugly. From Tuesday afternoon all the way through the rest of the forecast, it's cross-shore or cross-onshore, mostly from the west-northwest, and often blowing a moderate to fresh breeze. The wave state gets described as "poor surf conditions" or "marginal" for the entire run. The swell hangs around, with some bigger pulses of energy, like a 3ft to 4ft swell on the 27th and 28th of July, and the combined energy spikes up into the strong range (over 1000) but the wind just ruins it. The period on those days is long (18-19 seconds), which would be epic in a clean swell, but with that cross-chop, it's a mess.

We hit a real gap of poor conditions from the 22nd of July right through to the 1st of August. It's a long, frustrating stretch of lumpy, choppy surf. By the 2nd of August, the swell picks up to 6ft, but it's a short-period, 8-second windswell from the west-northwest, and the wind is still a problem. That kind of size and period is just a bumpy, blown-out mess at a beach and reef setup like this. Honestly, it looks more interesting for kite surfing than a paddle session.

Into the second week, the first week of August, the energy drops right off. The 4th of August sees a tiny 1ft swell, and the combined energy is weak (under 200). It's a real letdown. The forecast confidence is low for anything good in that second week. The only bright spot, and it's a long shot, is that Tuesday morning, the 21st. If you can get on it, do it. For the rest of the 16 days, I'd be finding something else to do.

Rusty.

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