The Inlet and Pier Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let's be straight with you – this is a tough one to write. The outlook for The Inlet and Pier is a long, flat spell with very little to get excited about. We're looking at a solid 16-day window, but honestly, the first week and a half is a write-off for any kind of decent surf.

Friday the 10th through to the morning of Wednesday the 16th is a real struggle. We're talking tiny, weak dribbles. The swell is barely registering, with combined energy figures stuck in the low teens and twenties (24, 15, 14). The wind is mostly calm or offshore on a few of the mornings, like Saturday the 11th morning with glassy conditions, but the swell is just too small at 0.7 ft to make anything of it. It's a real shame, because the conditions would be perfect if there was any ocean movement.

We get a little bump in size on Sunday the 12th, with the swell hitting 2 ft, but the period is a shocking 4 seconds, and the wind is a fresh cross-onshore. It's just a messy, lumpy, poor-quality closeout. The combined energy only reaches 27 and 30, which is still very weak. This pattern of onshore wind and short-period, weak swell continues through Monday and Tuesday. It’s not surfable, honestly.

The afternoon of Wednesday the 15th and Thursday the 16th show a slight shift, with a clean cross-offshore wind from the SSW, but the swell is a poor 3 ft and 3 ft with a short, weak period (4-5 seconds) and low energy (47 and 46). The waves will be small and fat, not worth paddling out for.

The biggest opportunity, and I mean *the* only standout in this whole 16-day forecast, is on Saturday the 18th. The afternoon session sees a swell of 4 ft from the south, with a period of 6 seconds. The combined energy finally hits a moderate 99. The wind is a clean cross-offshore from the SSW. This is the best we're going to get, but it's still not great. The swell is right on the edge of being too small for a proper wave, and the short period will make it a bit fat and weak. The Inlet and Pier is very consistent, so it'll be breaking, but don't expect any power. Because it's the only show in town and it's a consistent spot, expect crowds there often.

The rest of the window is a frustrating mix of onshore wind, rain, and tiny swell. The week of the 21st to the 25th has some small pulses of 3 ft swell, but the wind is either onshore or cross-onshore, keeping it chopped up and poor. Nothing to get excited about.

In short, the only real chance to get wet is the afternoon of the 18th, and even then, it'll be a very average session. The rest of the forecast is a flat, blown-out mess. The water temp is about average for this time of year.

Rusty.

Read more