Chadbourne Gulch Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let's have a look at what Chadbourne Gulch has got cooking for us over this next stretch.

Right from the get-go, it's a pretty slow start. The first few days are all about small, weak swell. We're looking at waves around 3 ft on Friday morning, coming from a SSW direction, but it's a long-period groundswell at 16 seconds. That sounds nice, but the combined energy is pretty weak at (491) and the conditions are just *marginal*. The water temp is sitting at 59°, which is pretty much what you'd expect for this time of year, nothing unusual there. Friday afternoon and Saturday stay small, with a bit more wind chop, so don't get your hopes up.

There's a real gap here of small, messy surf until we get to Thursday, the 3rd of September. That's when we finally see something that gets the blood moving. The morning kicks off with a 5 ft swell from the NW, and it holds through the afternoon at 5 ft. Now, the period drops to 11 seconds, so it's a shorter-period windswell, not a classic groundswell. The combined energy is a solid (1001) to (1161), and the wind is light and offshore from the WNW. That's the best condition we've seen all week. For a beginner-friendly spot like this, that 5 ft is about the top end before it gets a bit much, but with clean, offshore wind, this is the standout session. Its a fairly consistent break, but you'll want to be aware that crowds are sometimes an issue, so pick your peak.

After that burst, it fades back into the shadows. The morning of the 4th of September has 6 ft waves from the NW again with a super long 18-second period, but the wind is light offshore. That's gonna be a proper, clean, long-period groundswell. The energy is up at (1477) which is decent, but that long period can make it a bit straight at a beach setup like this. The afternoon on the 4th gets messy with cross-onshore wind.

The following week looks pretty average again. There's a pulse around the 8th and 9th of September, but the wave period drops to a short, weak 7 or 8 seconds. The swell height might be 5 ft to 6 ft, but with that short period and moderate cross-onshore winds, it's going to be a choppy, lumpy mess. Honestly, for those days, the wind setup looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing.

So to wrap it up, the best bet is hands down Thursday, the 3rd of September, and maybe the morning of the 4th. Get in the water when the wind is offshore and the swell is clean. After that, it's a long wait for anything decent.

Stay frothy,
Rusty

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