The Inlet and Pier Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Right, here’s the outlook for the next couple of weeks, focusing on The Inlet and Pier.

Well, to be honest, it’s a bit of a tough stretch of days ahead. Looking at the whole 16-day window, the waves are going to be really slim most of the time, with a lot of days where you’d be scratching your head wondering why you bothered. The combined energy is weak, usually sitting around the 30 mark, just showing there’s not much push out there.

Let’s start with this Friday, the 7th. The swell is a tiny 2 ft from the S, with a super short period of just 5 seconds. The water temp is sitting at 78°, which is about average for this time of year. The wind is a cross-offshore, so the surface will look clean, but the waves are just too weak and gutless to be any fun. It’s a definite miss.

Through the weekend and into the next week, it’s more of the same. Saturday the 8th, Sunday the 9th, Monday the 10th – all showing that same story: small, weak swell from the S or SE, with periods mostly under 8 seconds. The combined energy is often below 40. You’ll get some clean-looking water from the cross-offshore winds, but without any real swell, you’re just bobbing around.

There’s a decent gap of several days with absolutely nothing worth paddling out for. We’re talking from the 7th all the way through to the morning of the 20th of August. That’s nearly two weeks of flat or near-flat conditions. The morning of Tuesday the 12th does show a brief moment of offshore wind from the WNW at 12 mph, but with a wave height of only 0.3 ft, you can’t do anything with it.

The only real flicker of hope comes on Thursday the 20th of August. For the morning, we finally get some energy, with the combined swell hitting 55. The swell is from the SE with a period of 10 seconds, giving a wave height of 2 ft. The wind will be a cross-offshore from the SW at 9 mph, making the surface clean. This is the only slot in the whole outlook that gets a rating of surfable, and it’s still just very ordinary. The swell is also from the SE, which is a bit off the optimum NE direction for the break, so it won’t be lining up perfectly. If you do go, you’ll find a few little weak runners, but don’t expect much.

The afternoon of the 20th turns glassy with the wind dropping to nothing, but the swell energy also drops back down. It’s a tease, really.

So, the bottom line: there’s really nothing to get excited about here. The only half-decent chance you have is to keep an eye on that Thursday the 20th, but even then, keep the expectations low. It’s one of those periods where the forecast can change, but as it stands, the surf break is going to be mostly a lake.

Stay patient.

Rusty.

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