Ann Street Peaks Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Well, grab a coffee and settle in, because the next two weeks are lookin' pretty grim around here. I'm talkin' about Ann Street Peaks, our local beach-and-reef setup. The honest truth is, there's not a single decent session on the cards in the entire 16-day window. The whole run is a blank, and for a spot like this, that's a long, quiet stretch.

We start off on Friday the 24th with a tiny 3-foot easterly windswell, period a weak 8 seconds, and cross-shore winds. The water is a bit colder than usual at 68°, and the wave energy is a paltry 106. It's just poor. Saturday and Sunday are even smaller, with swell dropping to 3 feet and 2 feet. The energy bottoms out Sunday morning at 59, which is just sad. Winds are light, but the swell is barely there.

The whole first week is a write-off. Monday the 27th through Wednesday the 29th sees the swell crash to 0.7 feet and 1 foot with some long-period but totally useless groundswell (13 seconds) that has no size. The energy is in the 20s and 30s. There's a brief moment on Wednesday morning with a clean, cross-offshore breeze from the SW, but with only 1 feet of swell, you're just floating. It's a total flat spell.

We get a little bump on Thursday the 30th with 3 feet from the SSE, but the wind is a moderate cross-shore, so it's chopped up. That pattern of small, poor-quality, wind-affected swell drags on through the first of August. The swell picks up a bit around Sunday the 2nd of August, hitting 5 feet, but then the wind cranks to 19 mph, making it a lumpy, fresh cross-onshore mess.

The real spectacle starts around the 3rd of August. We get a solid pulse of swell from the SE. Monday morning has 5 feet, and by Monday afternoon it's 8 feet. The combined energy jumps to 800, then 1027 on Tuesday afternoon. By Wednesday the 5th, it's 8 feet with an energy reading of 1172 – that's serious wave energy. But here's the gut-punch: the wind is relentless. It's a constant cross-onshore, often fresh, and the surf is just lumpy, choppy, and ugly. This is a lot of water moving around, but with those onshore winds, the setup is more interesting for a kite surfer than a paddle surfer. The break quality is just poor.

The tail end of the forecast, around Friday the 7th of August, has a 7-foot swell from the ESE with a very long period of 14 seconds and a killer energy reading of 1600. The wind is cross-shore, and the surf is labeled "marginal." For a beach-and-reef break like this, a long period groundswell (14 seconds) can break too straight, making it tricky. Saturday the 8th is similar, dropping to 5 feet with a 13-second period.

So, what's the best of a bad lot? Honestly, there are no standouts. If I had to pick a moment, the Thursday morning of the 7th of August has the most size and energy, but the wind is still a problem. It's the only window that even gets a score of 2 out of 10, but it's still a "marginal" call. For a cleaner wave, you'd want the cross-offshore wind on the 29th, but there's no swell. It's a tough run.

Stay patient, folks. The ocean will sort itself out eventually. Forecasts can change, and it tends not to stay this poor for long.

Rusty.

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