Chadbourne Gulch Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, I’m Rusty, and here’s the outlook for Chadbourne Gulch.

It’s a slow start – the first few days are more about cleaning up than lighting up. There’s a bit of a long-period groundswell rollin’ in Sunday morning, but it’s only 3 ft from the SSW with a 15-second period, and the cross-onshore wind is messing with the surface. The combined swell energy is (582) – moderate, but the text says the surf is marginal. The water temp is 15°, which is about average for this time of year given the anomaly of 0.8°. Monday stays similar, with small waves around 3 ft and light breeze, but nothing to get excited about.

Now, Tuesday morning the 8th is where it starts to get interesting. We’ve got 3 ft from the S, period 12 seconds, and the wind is glassy – dead calm. Combined energy is (460). That’s clean, small, and fun for a beginner-friendly spot like this. If you’re just starting out, that’s your window. Wednesday morning the 9th stays glassy with 2 ft swell from the SSW (296 combined energy). Still small but clean.

The standouts? Honestly, the best on offer is a toss-up between the morning of Saturday the 12th and the afternoon of Friday the 18th. The 12th looks bigger at 6 ft from the NW, but the period is a short 8 seconds and the wind is cross-onshore at 12 mph, making it choppy and poor. I’d skip that. The 18th afternoon though – that’s a beauty. 8 ft from the NW, period 10 seconds, combined energy (1275) – strong. And the wind is glassy. The text says “excellent surf conditions for experienced surfers.” That’s the one to circle, but it’s over a week away, so keep an eye on it.

There’s a gap in quality from the 12th through the 14th with messy, onshore wind and lumpy conditions. The 16th afternoon sees a 10 ft NW swell, but it’s too big for this break, so only for the brave. The 17th afternoon has another 10 ft NW swell with glassy conditions, but again, it’s too big for most.

Saturday the 19th afternoon brings it back down: 5 ft from the NW, glassy, combined energy (749) – that’s a solid, clean session for intermediate surfers. Then Sunday the 20th afternoon is a small, glassy finisher with 2 ft from the SW and a long 19-second period, combined energy (478). Good for a log.

Crowds are possible at this spot – it says “sometimes,” so you might have company but not a circus. The break is fairly consistent, and it’s beginner-friendly, so keep that in mind when sizes jump over 5 ft.

Rusty.

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