Bay Head Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Gotta be straight with you – the next couple of weeks at Bay Head are looking pretty bleak. We’ve got a real dry spell on our hands, so let’s break it down.

The overall pattern is a long, flat stretch with very little to get excited about. For the first few days, we’re looking at tiny, weak waves with mostly onshore or cross-onshore winds messing things up. The combined energy of all swells is weak, barely cracking 68 at its best early on. The water temp is sitting at 74°, which is pretty average for the time of year, nothing unusual there.

Tuesday afternoon the 28th kicks things off with a 3ft south swell but a short, weak 5-second period and a strong 16 mph cross-shore wind from the south. It’s a right mess with risk of thunderstorms – a total write-off. Wednesday the 29th offers a tiny glimmer: a 4ft SE swell with a 7-second period and a light NNW breeze at 6 mph making it cross-offshore. The combined energy is a moderate 109, and the morning looks clean. It’s surfable, but very ordinary. That’s the best we’ve got in the first week, and it’s nothing to write home about. Thursday the 30th morning drops to 2ft with a 9 mph cross-offshore wind, but Thursday afternoon goes glassy with a 2ft SSE swell and the wind dropping to 3 mph from the NW. It’s tiny, but if you’re desperate for a longboard and some clean conditions, that’s your window.

After that, from Friday the 31st right through to Tuesday the 12th of August, it’s a brutal stretch. The swell barely gets above 3ft, and when it does, it’s short-period junk with poor energy readings (most days below 50). The winds are predominantly onshore or cross-onshore, and the wave comments are all “poor surf conditions.” There’s a few moments on the 11th of August with a 3ft SSE swell and a 12 mph cross-offshore wind from the SSW, giving a combined energy of 62, but it’s still a struggle. The 12th of August is just more of the same weak, messy surf. For beginners, anything over 5ft would be a concern, but that’s not an issue here – we’re well below that. The lack of size and constant wind just makes for a frustrating paddle.

Honestly, there’s no standout session here. The only real highlight is that Thursday afternoon the 30th with the glassy conditions, but even then, the waves are knee-high. For a beach break like Bay Head, these short-period, weak swells just don’t have the push to do anything interesting. The whole 16-day window is a bit of a dud. Sometimes it’s like this – the ocean just shuts down. Hang in there, check back in a few days, and maybe the forecast will turn around.

Rusty.

Read more