Cañaveral Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s get into this one. We’ve got a classic early-fall pulse coming in, but you’ll have to sit through a bit of a flat spell before it really gets going again right at the end of the outlook window.

Right now, it’s quiet. There’s a solid run of surf kicking off this Friday, the 11th of September, so we have a bit of a dry gap leading into it. The first real swell shows up on Friday morning with chest-high sets around 6ft coming out of the NE. The water is sitting at about 84°, which is bang on average for this time of year, so a nice warm morning in the water. That first session on Friday isn’t the cleanest with a light cross-onshore breeze, making things a little bumpy. The real standout window for the first few days is Friday afternoon. The wind eases right off and goes glassy, and that same 6ft NE swell cleans right up. The wave energy is moderate, and with those offshore conditions, Cañavery is looking like the best bet of the whole run for this first stretch. Expect fun, clean lines.

Saturday morning the swell jumps up a fair bit. That NE pulse builds to about 8ft and the energy gets strong into the mid-800s. It’s still a short period swell at 8 seconds, so it’ll be a bit lumpy. The morning has cross-onshore winds again, so the quality drops. This size is not one for the beginners at all. Saturday afternoon has a similar 8ft swell but the wind picks up and stays cross-onshore, so the chop is fairly messy. That weekend day is really for the more experienced crew unless the wind lays off.

Sunday morning is a touch smaller at 7ft, but the cross-onshore wind sticks around. The afternoon glass-off on Sunday looks decent though, with 6ft NE swell and glassy conditions. The energy is moderate, so it will be a nice session in the afternoon, much cleaner than the morning. That shoulder-high combo with clean conditions is a solid option.

Heading into Monday the 14th through mid-week, things settle down a little. We’re looking at 5ft to 6ft NE swell with light cross-onshores and occasional glassy pockets. Nothing huge, but enough for a log or a fun shortboard. It’s not the standout quality of the early weekend, but there are fun waves to be had. The wind does get a bit more messy on Wednesday morning with a moderate breeze making it choppy.

For the following weekend (19th and 20th of September), the energy drops off. Saturday the 19th still holds at 5ft to 5ft, and the glassy afternoon on Saturday the 19th is a good, clean session with light winds. Sunday the 20th is much weaker, dropping to about 4ft and the energy is down low. Those are small, fun waves but nothing big.

Then we hit a real lull. From Monday the 21st through the 23rd, the swell drops to about 2ft to 3ft. The energy figures drop way off. This is a few days of pretty flat conditions. There’s a slight re-appearance of some size later on Thursday the 24th and Friday the 25th, where a 5ft swell pops up from the NE. That swell is very short period though, only 6 seconds, so it’s going to be small soft lumps. The glassy mornings will make it look clean but the energy is low. This stretch into the 26th is pretty average overall; not something you’d race out for.

To sum it up: the real highlight is without a doubt Cañaveral on Friday afternoon, September 11th. That 6ft NE swell with glassy wind is the cleanest surf of the whole outlook. The next decent window is the glassy sessions on Sunday afternoon, also the 13th, and then again on Saturday the 19th. The second week is much weaker overall, with a brief pulse around the 24th, but it’s low period and pretty ordinary.

Stay safe out there, and keep an eye on the wind.
Rusty.

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