Wildwood Crest Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Ah, mate, I’ve been staring at the charts for the next 16 days for Wildwood Crest, and I gotta be straight with you—it’s a pretty grim stretch for the most part. We’ve got a whole lot of nothing to start, with surf barely creeping in. The water temperature is sitting at about 76°, which is a touch warmer than average for this time of year, but that’s about the only bright spot for a while.

We kick off on Friday, the 7th of August, and honestly, it’s a write-off. The swell is tiny, barely 2ft from the south with a short, choppy period of 5 seconds, and the wind is cross or cross-on. The combined wave energy is a measly 22 (weak), and the conditions are just poor. Saturday the 8th is a little better—we get a bit of clean, cross-off wind, but the swell is still flat at 1ft from the southeast. The energy is a bit higher at 51 (still weak), but it’s really only surfable if you’re desperate for a paddle. Sunday morning the 9th is similar, with 2ft from the south, but the wind holds clean.

Then we hit a proper dry spell. From Sunday afternoon the 9th right through to the morning of Monday the 17th of August, it’s a painful 8-day gap of almost nothing. Swell heights hover around 0.3ft to 2ft, mostly from the south or southeast, with periods so short you’d be better off swimming. The wind is clean at times, but there’s just no energy to work with—the combined energy values are all below 30 (weak). It’s a real bummer. The only highlight in that stretch is Saturday the 15th morning, when it goes glassy, but with only 1.0ft on offer, it’s a flat, glassy lake.

Finally, on Monday the 17th, we see a little pulse. The morning is still poor, but the afternoon brings 3ft from the east-southeast with a 6-second period, clean cross-off wind, and the energy jumps to 73 (still weak). It’s surfable, but very ordinary. Tuesday the 18th is the best of the lot. The morning has 4ft from the east-southeast with a 7-second period, clean cross-off wind, and the energy hits 149 (moderate). That’s the standout for this entire forecast. The swell is a bit small, but the wind is clean, and the break is a sandbar, so it won’t be too shifty. It’s a beginner-friendly size, so you won’t be getting pounded. The afternoon loses the wind though, going cross, so the morning is the window.

Wednesday the 19th gets a bit of size with 4ft from the east-southeast, but the wind switches to a strong onshore, making it messy. The energy is 154 (moderate), but with a fresh breeze, it’s not worth it. Thursday the 20th is a weird one—morning has 5ft from the south, but a strong cross-off wind of 22 mph. The energy is 354 (moderate), but that wind is going to make it a blustery, lumpy mess. Honestly, it might be more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing. The afternoon drops to 2ft.

The final days, from Friday the 21st to Saturday the 22nd, fizzle out again. We get some glassy mornings, but the swell is back to 1ft to 2ft, and the energy is weak (54 and below). The break is inconsistent by nature, and this run shows it—it’s a place that often goes quiet, so this blank run isn’t totally abnormal, but it still stings.

So, the only real call to action is Tuesday the 18th of August, early morning at Wildwood Crest. It’s not epic, but it’s the cleanest, most energetic wave we’ve got in the whole 16 days. Get on it, because the rest is a desert.

Rusty.

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