Cape Mendocino Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, folks, Rusty here. Let’s be straight with you. This 16-day window around Cape Mendocino is a tough one. We’re staring at a whole lot of cross-shore wind and messy, small surf for the foreseeable future.

The first few days, Sunday the 2nd through Tuesday the 4th, are basically a write-off. We’ve got some knee-high slop, maybe 1ft to 2ft, with a strong breeze out of the north kicking up a nasty cross-chop. The water is 53° and running a solid 4° colder than normal for this time of year. You’re not missing anything.

Then we get a little pulse of energy on Wednesday the 5th. The swell bumps up to 6ft from the northwest, but the period is only 8 seconds, so it’s going to be a bit crumbly and fat. The morning is looking iffy with a light cross-onshore, but check out the afternoon: the wind goes glassy. That’s our first real chance to get wet, and it’s the best we’ve seen so far. The energy is moderate, with a reading of 512. It won’t be epic, but it’ll be clean and playful. Thursday morning still has some size, 5ft, but the wind swings back onshore and it gets messy. After that, the bottom falls out again.

From Thursday afternoon the 6th all the way through to Friday the 14th, it’s a grim stretch. The swell drops back to that 1ft to 2ft junk, and that persistent north to northwest wind, blowing anywhere from 15 to 22 mph, just ruin any chance of a decent wave. There’s a bunch of longer period energy in the water from the south-southwest, but it’s so weak it doesn’t matter. This is a long, flat spell.

Now, the tail end of the window starts to show some promise. On Saturday the 15th, we see a bit more size, with 3ft on offer, but the wind is still a problem. Then Sunday the 16th rolls around. Morning brings a 6ft northwest swell with a 9-second period and a solid energy reading of 859. That's the strongest energy we see all window. But again, the wind is doing its thing, blowing cross-shore from the north-northwest. It’s going to be a bit lumpy, but there’s a wave there for the guys who want to paddle out. It’s a marginal call, but it’s the most size we get.

After that, we fade again. So, honestly, if you're looking for the standout, it's that glassy window on Wednesday afternoon the 5th. It's not big, but it'll be the cleanest surf we get. Keep the faith after that, it’s a long dry spell, but the ocean usually wakes up eventually.

Signing off.

Rusty

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