Brighton Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let's be real, looking at what we've got on the table for Brighton.

To be straight with you, the next 16 days are a real struggle. There's barely a session worth paddling out for. The first recommendation doesn’t even pop up until Saturday the 22nd, and even then, it's a tough sell. The water temp is sitting at 70°, which is a full 7° warmer than usual for this time of year, so that’s very unusual. You’ll be sweating in your wetsuit, if you bother to wear one.

The whole first week is basically a write-off. From Saturday the 22nd right through to Friday the 28th, the swell is tiny, mostly under 3 ft, and when it does show a pulse, the wind is all wrong—cross-shore, cross-on, or onshore. The wave energy is pitiful, with combined swell energy figures barely hitting double digits, like 4 or 7. There’s just nothing to work with. On Thursday the 27th, we finally see a bit of a bump—4 ft for the morning, with moderate cross-onshore wind and energy at 99, but it’s still not clean enough to call it a good surf.

Now, Friday the 28th of August is where things get spicy, but it’s not for the faint-hearted. Brighton picks up some real size: 6 ft in the morning with a lumpy cross-shore wind, energy jumping to 248, and by the afternoon it’s pumping 8 ft with a 7-second period and a combined energy of 696—that’s a strong reading. But the wind is cross-onshore and choppy. For the experienced crew only. If you’re a beginner, this is way more than you want. Honestly, with that kind of cross-onshore wind and messy conditions, this setup looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddling out on a shortboard.

Saturday the 29th continues the theme with 7 ft in the afternoon, but a strong cross-onshore breeze of 25 mph makes it a messy, blown-out affair. Energy is still high at 380. Sunday the 30th is a write-off again with near-gale force winds.

After that, it all fizzles out. Monday the 31st sees a brief moment of glass—2 ft with glassy wind and a north-northeast breeze offshore in the morning—energy at 40, so you might get a couple of small, clean bumps on a longboard. But it’s inconsistent and won’t last.

The rest of the first week of September is a repeating pattern of tiny, clean-looking waves with fresh offshore or cross-off winds, but the swell is dreadfully weak—1.0 ft to 3 ft, with periods of 4 to 5 seconds. The combined energy is in the low double digits or teens. There’s no power. It’s a frustrating blank run, which is honestly pretty normal for this area when the swell windows don’t line up.

The only standout, if you can call it that, is Friday the 28th of August for the bigger swell. But it’s for experts only, and the quality is wrecked by strong cross-onshore wind. Don’t get your hopes up.

Rusty.

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