Apache Pier Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s on the table for Apache Pier over the next couple of weeks. Straight up, it’s a tough stretch. We’ve got a whole lot of small, onshore slop to wade through before we see anything worth paddling for.

The water temp is sitting at a warm 84°, which is a touch warmer than normal for this time of year, so you can leave the steamer at home.

For the first week, from Monday the 6th through to Sunday the 12th, it’s pretty grim. We’ve got swell heights bouncing between 2ft and 5ft, but the wind is almost always cross or cross-onshore and often fresh. That means choppy, lumpy, poor surf conditions day after day. The combined energy is sitting low, mostly in the 40s or 80s, which tells you there’s hardly any push. Waves are short-period, around 5-6 seconds, so it’s weak and crumbly. There’s a couple of morning windows on the 7th, 8th, and 9th with clean conditions and light cross-off winds, but the swell is tiny (3ft to 3ft) and the energy is weak (51 to 105). It’s surfable if you’re desperate, but it’s ordinary.

Wednesday afternoon the 8th sees the swell kick up to 5ft and the energy jumps to 152 – moderate wave energy – but the wind is a fresh cross-shore making it lumpy. It’s not clean enough to get excited about.

The weekend gets even smaller. Saturday the 11th and Sunday the 12th have clean mornings with light wind and 2ft to 2ft swell, but it’s barely a ripple.

Then we hit a real dry spell. From Monday the 13th through to Wednesday the 15th, the swell drops to 1.0ft or 1ft with long periods around 9-10 seconds. That’s weak, straight, and unreliable. The energy is in the 20s and 40s. Complete flat spell for three days.

Things start to look a bit more interesting towards the end of the run. On Thursday the 16th, we get a jump in swell to 5ft with 158 energy – moderate wave energy – coming from the SSW. The wind in the afternoon goes clean cross-off from the NNE. That’s the best chance we get, but it’s still a bit of a gamble with a risk of thunderstorms. Friday the 17th morning keeps that clean cross-off wind with 4ft swell from the S and 126 energy. Still, the scores are poor.

For the standouts, it has to be Thursday morning the 16th and Friday morning the 17th. The swell direction is SSW and S, which is right in the preferred SSE optimum for Apache Pier. The cross-off wind will make it clean, and the energy is moderate. It won’t be pumping, but it’s the only window with size, direction, and wind lining up. Crowds are often a problem here, so expect plenty of company if you go.

Nothing in this forecast is over 8ft, so it’s safe for intermediate crew, but beginners might struggle with the occasional 5ft to 5ft sets.

The blank run in the middle of the period gives you a break, but keep an eye on the long-range stuff – it’s promising but still a week and a half away, so don’t book the day off work just yet.

Rusty.

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