Californias Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s be straight with you – this stretch is looking like a write-off for the next couple of weeks. The whole 16-day window is pretty much a dud for surf, so I’ll give it to you plain.

We’re looking at Californias, a reef setup that’s usually fairly exposed, but it’s just not happening. The forecast is grim from the start – Friday the 7th of August kicks off with severe gale cross-onshore winds, blowing out a solid 18 ft to 25 ft swell. The wave energy is through the roof, with combined energy readings of 11014 and 14579, but it’s totally unsurfable. The whole weekend is hammered by storms and strong winds, with swell dropping to 2 ft on Saturday but still messy. Water temps are about average for this time of year, so no surprises there.

The pattern doesn’t let up. From Sunday the 9th all the way through to the end of the period, every single day is marked as “poor surf conditions.” The swell is weak – mostly under 5 ft – and the wind is either cross-shore or cross-onshore, creating lumpy, choppy, blown-out crap. The combined energy drops from moderate (871) to weak (6) by the end. There’s a long gap of absolutely nothing worth paddling out for.

The only glimmer is toward the very end – around Monday the 17th of August through Thursday the 20th – we get a few days of clean, offshore winds from the ENE, with reported “moderate offshore and clean” conditions. But the swell is tiny, just 1 ft to 1 ft, with 10-11 second periods. That’s not enough to break properly at a reef. It’s clean, but flat. The energy is weak (19-64). So, for the whole 16 days, there’s no standout session. No recommendations from the guidance file either, which tells you everything.

In short: if you’re a surfer, stay home. The setup looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing during the big wind days, but that’s about it. Forecasts can change, but right now, this is a blank run. Sorry, mates.

Rusty.

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