Californias Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Look, I’m not gonna sugarcoat it – this 16-day stretch for the Californias is a tough one. There’s a big, empty gap at the start, and we don’t see anything rideable until the morning of the 6th, and even then, it’s a battle against ordinary conditions for most of the run. The water temp is sitting at a pretty tropical 83°, pretty much dead average for this time of year, so you’ll be warm, but the waves just aren’t playing ball for a good long while.

The first hint of something is on the Sunday the 6th, early. The swell is a tiny 2ft from the north, but there’s a nice, clean offshore wind from the Northeast at 16 mph. The swell energy is pretty weak (103), and with a period of 9 seconds, it’s not gonna have much punch. It’s barely surfable, but if you’re desperate, that’s your window. The afternoon that same day picks up to 4ft from the north-northeast, but the wind swings cross-offshore and the period drops to a crummy 8 seconds. It’s a no-go for me.

We get a few more days of similar nonsense. The Monday the 7th brings a 5ft swell from the north-northwest, but the period is shocking – only 6 seconds – and the wind is messy. The Tuesday the 8th actually has the biggest swell of the whole outlook, a solid 6ft from the north with a moderate energy level (551 and 540), but the wind is a stubborn cross-offshore at 19 mph and the conditions are rated poor all day. For a reef break, that’s a write-off.

The outlook tails off into nothing. From the 10th through to the 20th, the swell drops below 3ft, often down to 0.7ft or 1ft. The energy figures are in the double digits or low triple digits (like 81, 62, 48). Even though some mornings like the 13th and 15th have offshore or light winds, the lack of wave height kills it. The 20th has a glassy morning with 0.7ft swell and energy of 10 – that’s flat, mate.

If there’s one standout – and I use that term loosely – it’s the morning of the 6th. The offshore wind (NE 16 mph) will make it clean at a 2ft north swell. It’s the only window where the conditions aren't actively terrible. But this isn’t a day for a session; it’s a day for a paddle. The rest is a long, flat run. Kite surfers might get a look-in on the windier afternoons, but for a paddle surfer, this is a frustrating outlook.

Rusty.

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