Carmel Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let's have a look at what Carmel Beach has in store for us over the next couple of weeks.

Right off the bat, I gotta be straight with you – the start of this outlook is a bit of a slow grind. The first few days are a write-off for any decent waves. We're looking at a pretty poor run of conditions from the 5th right through the morning of the 9th of September. The swell is small, mostly under 3 ft, and that persistent NW wind is making a mess of things, leaving us with a choppy, cross-onshore surface. The energy is pretty weak, barely hitting the 700 mark on the 5th, so it's just not worth the paddle.

Now, Wednesday the 9th brings a flicker of hope. The afternoon session sees the wind go completely glassy. The swell is tiny at 2 ft, but it's a long-period 19-second groundswell from the SSW, with a combined energy of 411. It's a classic small, clean “maybe” window. For a longboard or a funboard, this could be a fun little session if you're desperate.

But the real standout, the one you want to circle on your calendar, is Thursday the 10th of September. The morning is okay, but the afternoon is where it's at. The wind goes glassy again, and we've got a solid 3 ft swell from the SW, with a 17-second period. That's proper groundswell energy, and the combined energy is a healthy 731. It's not huge, but it's clean, lined up, and that long period means it'll be peeling nicely. This is the best on offer for the whole period. Expect it to be a bit crowded because it's going to be a small window of perfection on a beach break. The water temp is around 60°, which is pretty much normal for this time of year.

After that, it's a bit of a mixed bag. Friday the 11th looks like a step back into choppy conditions. The weekend of the 12th and 13th sees a bump in swell size, up to 6 ft on Saturday afternoon, but the period drops right off to a short 9 seconds, and it's all cross-onshore wind again. That kind of setup is just gonna be a messy, bumpy, short-period mess – more interesting for the kite surfers than us paddle guys.

The second week is a bit of a letdown. The swell tries to pick up again, but it's constantly blown out by wind. The 19th of September has some pulses of 6 ft swell from the WNW, but it's always cross-onshore, making it poor. The 20th of September morning has a cleaner 6 ft swell with a 17-second period and an onshore wind, which is a slight improvement, but it's still not the clean, glassy conditions we had on the 10th.

So, to sum it up: the best call is Thursday afternoon, the 10th. It's a small-window, glassy, long-period groundswell that will be a treat. Otherwise, plan for a lot of skunked days.

Stay frothy.
Rusty.

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