Chadbourne Gulch Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here again, looking at the same charts for Chadbourne Gulch, but in feet. The outlook's the same story: a bit of a mixed bag with some real heavy water coming up later.

This is a beginner-friendly wave, and the water is sitting at about 55°, which is normal for this time of year. Right from the start, through this weekend and into early next week, it's all short-period, 7 to 8-second windswell. That doesn't give you much power. You're looking at moderate wave energy, even with the numbers in the 400 to 800 range, but with a steady cross-onshore breeze kicking up ripples, the conditions are just average. Saturday morning the 11th has a tiny 3ft SSW groundswell, but it's cross-on and weak.

Things get real starting Wednesday afternoon the 15th. The swell jumps to 8ft from the NW, and the energy climbs into the serious zone, hitting 1121. Thursday the 16th keeps that 8ft NW swell, and the energy is absolutely pumping, peaking at 1938 in the morning. That's a massive amount of water. The period stretches to 9 seconds, which is better, but it's still a big, raw NW swell hitting this exposed spot with a cross-on breeze. For anyone who isn't a strong expert, this is going to be a washing machine. For a big-wave charger, game on.

The best bet for clean conditions is Saturday the 18th and Sunday the 19th, with a massive caveat. Saturday morning the 18th shows a tiny 3ft swell, but with a long 16-second period from the WNW. The wave energy is strong at 983. The wind turns glassy with a slight offshore. That's a rare, clean window. It won't be big, but the quality will be there for a beginner or longboarder. Sunday the 19th afternoon has a 3ft, 17-second SW groundswell, also with offshore wind. The energy (943) is still good for the size. These are the only two sessions where the stars align for real clean, long-period lines. For most of the other days, that 6ft to 8ft NW swell with cross-onshore wind is going to be a messy, powerful beast, more suited to a tow-in crew or a kite surfer.

Later in the second week, around the 24th and 25th, we see a massive 24-second groundswell from the SW, but the heights drop back to 2ft to 3ft. The energy stays high (1083-1106), so it'll be incredibly clean and well-lined up, but very inconsistent. It's a classic case of quality over quantity, but you'd need to be very patient.

So, for a clean, fun session, aim for the early mornings of Saturday the 18th and Sunday the 19th. For the heavy-water crowd, the mid-week of the 15th through the 17th has the size, but the wind is a factor. This spot is fairly consistent, so even with a rough start, forecasts change. I'm Rusty.

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