Windmills Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, grab your board, let’s look at what’s comin’.

We got a long run ahead, but I gotta be straight with you—it’s lookin’ pretty bleak for a solid surf for the next week and a half here at Windmills (this part of the coast). The wind is just a total buzzkill, hammerin’ us from the east-northeast almost non-stop, and when it ain’t a stiff cross-shore it’s a moderate cross-shore. Clean conditions? Barely a sniff. We’ve got a lot of days with “poor surf conditions” stamped all over the chart.

The combined swell energy is all over the place—some days it’s moderate, like the 215 (moderate wave energy) we see on the 30th of August, or the 256 (moderate) on the 1st of September. But the real killer is that swell direction is ENE, and this break actually wants the opposite: a nice NNW groundswell for it to work its magic. So we’re paddling against the current here, mate. The swell we’re gettin’ is mostly short-period windswell with periods of just 5 to 8 seconds, nothin’ with any real grunt to wrap in proper. That means lumpy, bumpy lines that break all at once. On top of that, the water temp is sittin’ at a warm 80°F, which is about average for the time of year, so that's no surprise.

We start the run on Wednesday, August 26th with a messy 4ft ENE swell and cross-shore winds at 19 mph. Thursday the 27th morning looks *clean* but the swell is a weak 4ft with a tiny 5-second period, and the energy is only 84 (weak wave energy). It might look okay from the beach, but it’s a paddler’s graveyard. By Saturday, August 29th, we see the swell jump to 5ft and then 6ft in the afternoon—207 combined energy (moderate)—but that’s still the wrong direction with a cross-shore, and it’s just a windswell on a reef break. It’ll be a crumbly, weak mess.

The only day that even raises an eyebrow is way down the line, Wednesday, September 9th in the afternoon, and Thursday, September 10th. On the 9th afternoon, we finally get a bit of life: a 4ft ENE swell but with a period that jumps to 12 seconds and combined energy of 469 (strong wave energy). And on the 10th, the wind is light—coming from the NE at 6 mph—and the morning shows a tiny 1ft WNW swell with a very long 14-second period. That long period, light wind... that’s the closest we get to a little bit of hope. But the swell direction is still poor and the heights are tiny.

Overall, there are no standout days here. If you absolutely have to get wet, the morning of Thursday, September 10th is your best bet for a clean, glassy go-out—but don't expect much push. This spot has a reputation for needing a solid NW groundswell, and we just aren't gettin' it in this window. It’s a fairly consistent break, so we know it *can* fire, but this run is a write-off. For now, this coastline looks far more interesting for a kite than a paddle.

Rusty

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