Black Rock Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s get into it.

The first good surf of the window hits on Monday the 3rd of August, and honestly, it’s the one to circle. We’ve got a solid pulse of swell from the SE running 5 feet with a period of 11 seconds, and the water is sitting at 69° – about average for this time of year. The real magic is the glassy conditions on Monday morning, with the wind dead calm. That’s the kind of start that gets you out of bed early.

Black Rock is a powerful reef break, advanced only, and it’s exposed to the NE for the optimum swell direction. The SE swell is a bit off that, but the combined energy is a solid 533, which is moderate-stuff. The morning session is the standout. The afternoon sees a light NE breeze come in, cross-on, and the quality drops – the tide starts to mess with it too.

After that initial burst, the surf settles down. Tuesday morning the 4th has smaller 3 feet SE swell, period dropping to 9 seconds, and while it’s still glassy, the energy is way down at 169. It’s surfable, but nothing special. Wednesday morning the 5th has a 3 feet E swell, period 10 seconds, glassy again, energy around 154. It’s ordinary. The pattern repeats: glassy mornings, then the wind turns onshore or cross in the afternoons, washing things out.

Thursday the 6th, Friday the 7th, Saturday the 8th, Sunday the 9th – all mornings are small, from 2 feet to 4 feet, mostly from the E or ENE. The energy is low to moderate, and the wind is often cross or onshore. Not worth a paddle. The 4 feet E swell on Sunday the 9th has a 9-second period and 281 energy, but the wind is cross-on from the NNE. It’s messy.

The window opens up again on Monday the 10th. A 3 feet E swell, 9-second period, and the wind goes offshore from the WSW in the morning, then goes glassy in the afternoon. The energy is 176. It’s clean, but the swell is just average. Not a standout.

After that, it’s a long stretch of small, weak surf. From Tuesday the 11th all the way through to Tuesday the 18th, the swell hangs around 2 feet to 3 feet, mostly from the E or ENE, with periods of 8 to 10 seconds. The energy is low, often under 100. The wind is generally cross-off or cross, which keeps the surface clean-ish, but there’s no power. The mornings on the 12th, 13th, 15th, 16th, and 18th are surfable, but it’s grovel territory.

The best of the lot? No question, it’s Monday the 3rd of August, first light at Black Rock. That 5 feet SE swell with glassy conditions and solid energy is the only time the reef really comes alive. Everything else is a “maybe” session.

Rusty.

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