Californias Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let’s look at what we’ve got coming down the line for Californias.

It’s a bit of a frustrating start, to be honest. There’s a lot of week ahead with messy conditions. We kick things off on Thursday the 27th, but that afternoon is a write-off. We’ve got a 8ft swell from the west pushing through a lot of energy (1321), but the wind is a howling cross-shore and there are storms around. It’s not a surfer’s ocean right now.

We then hit a proper dry spell. From Friday the 28th all the way through to Monday the 1st of September, the surf is either tiny, non-existent, or getting smashed by gale-force winds. You’re looking at a solid four to five days where you wouldn’t bother paddling out. There’s a brief moment on Sunday the 30th where the wind goes offshore from the east, but there’s no swell to work with, so it’s flat.

Things start to rumble back to life around Tuesday the 2nd, but the wind is onshore or cross-onshore, keeping everything choppy and ugly. The energy is moderate (334 to 958), but the quality just isn’t there. It’s not until Saturday the 5th of September that we see a glimmer. The swell drops a bit to 5ft from the north, swinging around with a long period of 11 seconds. That’s a nice groundswell, but the wind is cross-shore, keeping it a bit bumpy. It’s still just marginal.

Now, the true standout of the whole outlook is Sunday the 6th of September. That afternoon, the wind swings offshore from the east, right into the optimum north direction for this reef. The swell jumps to a clean 7ft from the north, packing a solid 686 units of energy. The wind is just a light breeze, making it clean. This is the pick of the fortnight. It’s a proper groundswell with a bit of period behind it, and it’s going to line up nicely on the reef. This will be for the experienced crew, as it’s a solid size.

The following week is more of the same, with periods of clean wind but mostly cross or cross-onshore conditions. Monday the 7th starts with a 7ft NNW swell and light wind, but it gets wrecked by the afternoon. Thursday the 10th and Friday the 11th of September look promising as well, with a dropping 5ft to 6ft NNW swell and light offshore winds from the north-east. Those will be clean, fun waves, but nothing compared to the punch we get on the 6th.

Stay patient, fellas. The 6th of September is your day.

Rusty.

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