Bay Street Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, this is Rusty. Let’s look at Bay Street. The water’s way warmer than normal for this time of year – we’re talking about 74°F with a huge 8°F anomaly, which is very unusual. That’s the first thing you’ll notice when you paddle out.

Honestly, the next two weeks look pretty flat and frustrating. We’ve got a long stretch with next to no surf worth getting excited about. There's a gap from now right through the middle of September where the wave energy is weak, mostly under 200 (combined energy of all swells directed here) and the wave comment keeps saying “poor surf conditions.” The swell is tiny – mostly 1ft to 2ft – and coming from the SW or SSW, with periods that bounce between 13 and 20 seconds. Even the longer period stuff isn’t doing us any favors because it’s onshore wind most of the time or cross-onshore, messing up what little shape there is.

The first real hint of anything slightly better creeps in around Wednesday the 16th of September morning. We get a small pulse of 2ft SW swell at 17 seconds with light cross-onshore breeze. The combined energy bumps to 212, but it’s still only rated marginal at best. Not worth wetting your wetsuit for unless you’re desperate for a splash.

Thursday the 17th and Friday the 18th mornings are similar – same story: 2ft, 16 to 19 second SW swell, light onshore wind, and the energy climbs a bit to 228 and then 285. It’s still marginal. The wind stays light and onshore or cross-onshore, so it’s not clean.

The best of a bad bunch looks like Saturday the 19th of September morning and Sunday the 20th of September morning. On Saturday morning, we’ve got 2ft SW swell at 18 seconds with light onshore wind – energy at 256. Sunday morning offers similar: 2ft SW swell at 18 seconds, combined energy of 299, and the wind is light cross-onshore. Both are rated marginal. That’s your only real standouts, but honestly, 2ft with onshore flow is a long way from pumping.

After that, it’s more of the same flat dribble right through to the end of the forecast. Nothing gets above 3ft, and even that on Monday the 21st of September afternoon is accompanied by onshore wind and a “poor surf conditions” call. The long period swells (15-20 seconds) would be better suited to a point or reef, but Bay Street is an exposed beach, so those long lines will just close out.

For a beginner, the tiny size is safe, but the onshore chop makes it a messy push. If you’re an experienced surfer, there’s simply nothing here to chase. This setup looks more interesting for a kite session than a paddle session – those onshore winds and small, weak swell are just not cooperating for surfing.

Rusty.

Read more