The Inlet and Pier Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let’s talk about what’s on the menu for the next couple of weeks.

Straight up, I’m looking at a long, quiet stretch ahead. The Inlet and Pier is the only spot on the radar, and honestly, it’s not looking good for the paddle. We’ve got a solid 16-day window but the first real chance of anything rideable is a long way off, so don’t get your hopes up too early.

The pattern starts with Thursday afternoon, 30th July. There’s a tiny 2ft swell from the SE, but it’s rocking a short 8-second period. The wind is a cross-off from the NNW, so the surface is clean, but the wave energy is barely a whisper at 33. It’s not worth suiting up for. The water’s a warm 76°, which is pretty much dead average for this time of year, so no surprises there.

Friday morning, 31st July, is glassy with a 1ft NE swell and a super short 5-second period. Energy is almost non-existent at 7. It’s pretty, but there’s nothing to ride. The rest of that weekend and into the first week of August is a real bummer. We’re looking at consistent cross and cross-onshore winds with winds hitting 18-25 mph, and the swell never gets above 3ft. The energy readings are all in the double digits, mostly weak, and the wave comment says “poor surf conditions” for every single session. Saturday morning, 1st August, has a 0.7ft swell and only 4 points of energy. It’s a ghost town out there.

The wind does ease up a bit around the 7th and 8th of August, but the swell is still tiny, 0.3ft to 2ft, with periods all over the place. There’s a morning on the 7th with a 0.3ft E swell and an 11-second period, but that’s a long period for that size, and it’s basically flat. The energy is 3. You’re just floating.

Now, the best of a bad bunch shows up on Sunday, 9th August. Both morning and afternoon we get clean conditions with a cross-off NNW wind at 9 mph. The swell is a tiny 1ft from the SE, period 7 seconds, and the energy is 27 in the afternoon. That’s still weak, but it’s the cleanest the water will be. The Inlet and Pier is a beach and jetty setup, so it needs a bit more push to stand up, but if you’re desperate for a longboard session, that Sunday morning might be your only shot. The swell direction is SE, which is not the optimum NE, but the clean glassy surface is the only saving grace.

We then hit another dry spell from the 10th through the 14th. The wind goes back to cross-off occasionally, but the swell is consistently 0.3ft to 1ft. The energy is nearly all in the single digits. The afternoon of the 13th does show glassy conditions with a 0.7ft E swell and a 10-second period, but the energy is only 19. It’s a flat calm, pretty to look at, but not for surfing.

The real standout, if you can call it that, is that Sunday, 9th August. It’s the only window with a clean surface and a pulse of energy, however weak. For the rest of the period, it’s a long, hard wait. This stretch is typical for the area when it goes quiet, but it’s still a bummer. Looks more like a kite surfing setup with the cross-breezes than a proper paddle session.

Rusty.

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