Atlantic Terrace Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let's take a look at this Atlantic Terrace stretch.

Alright, let's be straight with you. Looking out over the next couple of weeks, we've got a long, frustrating stretch of nothing special. The first week and a half is basically a write-off for any decent surfing. We're looking at a solid 13 days before things start to look interesting, with tiny, messy waves and poor conditions dominating the chart. The combined swell energy is consistently weak, mostly sitting under 100, so there's very little grunt in the water.

Starting from the 12th of September, it's a grim picture. Saturday morning sees a tiny 1.0ft SE swell with a short 9-second period, but an easterly cross-onshore breeze has it all chopped up and messy. Sunday offers a glimmer of hope—by the afternoon, a light offshore wind from the northwest cleans up the 1ft SE swell, making it surfable but very ordinary. That tiny window vanishes quickly.

The rest of the week into the next is a blur of poor surf, unsuitable wind, and swell energy that barely registers. Monday and Tuesday see some small ENE pulses, but the winds are all over the place—cross-shore, fresh breezes, and cross-chop. It’s not worth paddling out for this. The combined energy stays in the 30 to 90 range, which tells you all you need to know about the lack of power.

We get a little swell bump around the 25th of September. Friday morning shows a 5ft E swell with a cleaner cross-offshore wind, but the surf is still described as poor. Then, Friday afternoon is the first real sign of life: a 5ft ESE swell with a 8-second period, and a gentle northerly breeze keeping it clean. The combined energy jumps to 272, which is moderate, and the report says "expect good surf conditions." It's not perfect, but it's the first real opportunity.

Then, the standout of the whole period lands on Saturday, the 26th of September. The morning is the pick of the bunch. We've got a 4ft swell from the ESE, but the magic is in the wind—it's glassy, dead calm. That's a major positive for clean surfaces. The combined swell energy is a solid 209, and the overall quality gets a nod. This is the one. The swell direction is coming from the ESE, which is slightly off the optimum SE direction for Atlantic Terrace, but the glassy conditions make up for it. This will be a fun, clean wave, though at 4ft it’s still beginner-friendly.

After that, Sunday the 27th sees the swell hold at around 3ft with a longer period of 10 seconds from the ESE, and the combined energy actually peaks at 287. But a fresh southwesterly cross-shore breeze will chop it up and ruin the fun.

So, if you’re holding out, save your energy for that Saturday morning, the 26th of September. It's the only true standout in the whole 16-day window. Before that, there’s not much to get excited about.

Rusty, signing off.

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