Freshwater West • Statistics for July

July: Flat Spells and Summer Cauldrons

July is the thickest part of the summer doldrums at Freshwater West. Average swell bottoms out at 3.3ft (1.0m) and the period fades to 7.5 seconds, with a large chunk of the swell sitting in the tiny 0.5-1m range. The good news is that the directional distribution is still dominated by the optimal WSW and W sectors, with WSW at 44.4%, W at 20.9% and SW at 11.5%. The bad news is the wind. WSW winds blow 13.3%, SW 11.1%, and W 11.2% - all onshore and all likely to chop the waves into closeout mush. Ideal offshore flow is present only 15% of the time, so most sessions are a game of surging short-period lumps rather than clean waves. The warmer water at 16.4°C and lighter air temperatures around 15.9°C make it tempting to get wet, but keep expectations low. If a stray tropical swell lights up the North Atlantic, Freshwater West can still wake up, but it is rare.