The Wedge Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s get one thing straight right off the bat: the next 16 days are looking pretty grim for The Wedge. This is a breakwater setup that demands a solid, clean SSW swell to really fire, and we just aren’t getting it. The swell that is rolling in is being mugged by poor conditions, so the overall story is one of a long, frustrating wait.

We’ve got a few small windows where the waves are technically rideable, but they’re all “marginal” at best. The kick-off is Tuesday, July 28th, with a bit of a tease. The Wedge is seeing a long-period groundswell from the SSW, with a serious 17-second period pumping in. The height is only 4 ft, which is tiny for this spot, but the combined swell energy is still moderate (809). The problem is the wind is on it, blowing 9 mph from the south, which is going to chop it up. The sets will be few and far between, but that long period means the ones that do come will have some push. It’s a real "almost there" kind of setup.

Wednesday the 29th and Thursday the 30th are more of the same story – same small, long-period SSW swell, but the wind keeps swinging cross-on, which is never ideal for a breakwater. The energy is still moderate (848 on Wednesday afternoon, 757 on Thursday morning), but it won't be clean. By Friday, July 31st, the swell period drops to 13 seconds, it’s a bit smaller, and the energy is down to 717. The wind is still a cross-off issue that’s going to leave the surface bumpy.

Then, honestly, it all falls apart. From Saturday, August 1st onward, the wave heights drop below 3 ft, the energy drops through the floor (down to weak levels like 139), and the conditions are marked as “poor” for days on end. There’s a long stretch of almost nothing. We’re looking at a solid 10 days of flat, crummy conditions starting around August 1st with no real hope of anything surfable until at least August 9th, when the swell tries to bump back up to 3 ft, but it's still too weak (331) and still cross-on.

The Wedge is not a beginner’s wave to begin with. Even the best of this period, with waves around 4 ft to 5 ft, wouldn't be a beginner-friendly day. The only real standout, if you can call it that, is the very start of the window on Tuesday morning, July 28th, because of that 17-second period and the moderate energy. But those winds are just cruel. For the rest of the 16 days, you’re better off doing something else. The forecast is reliable for the first few days, but the long-range promise of a tiny bump in the second week is highly uncertain.

This is a tough one. The Wedge is a fickle, expert spot, and when it’s off, it’s really off. The setup looks more interesting for someone on a kite than a paddle board right now.

Stay patient, keep an eye on the charts, but don't hold your breath.

Rusty.

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