Cherry Hill Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let's have a look at what's on the table for the next couple of weeks.

Right off the bat, I gotta be straight with you – it's a slow start. We're looking at a good 12 days of pretty average conditions before anything really starts to hum. The first real standout doesn't show up until Thursday, the 3rd of September. For the first week and a half, we're stuck with poor to marginal surf, mostly choppy cross-onshore winds, and small, weak swell. It's going to be a patience game.

The water is sitting at a warm 71°, which is a touch warmer than normal for this time of year, so the boardies are fine.

The only spot we've got to work with is Cherry Hill. It's a fairly consistent beginner break, but it's exposed to the west and the optimum swell is from the west. The problem is, most of the swell we're seeing is coming from the south and southwest, which isn't its ideal direction.

For the first week, from Saturday the 22nd all the way through to Tuesday the 1st of September, the surf is tiny. We're talking 2 ft to 3 ft of swell, mostly from the SSW, with short periods hanging around 8 to 14 seconds. The wind is mostly light, but it's a cross-onshore, which just messes with the face. The combined wave energy is weak to moderate, barely cracking 200 to 400 (200-400). It's a flat spell.

On Wednesday the 26th, the swell picks up a bit to 5 ft from the south, and the energy gets into the moderate range (952), but it's still a cross-onshore breeze, making it choppy and ugly. Thursday the 27th sees a drop back to 3 ft, with a short period of 10 seconds, and still no clean conditions.

There's a glimmer on Friday the 28th and Saturday the 29th of August. The swell is still small, around 3 ft to 4 ft, but the period stretches out to 16-19 seconds from the SSW. That's a proper groundswell, and the wind goes light and offshore, swinging from the WSW and W. The energy builds to 567 and 728. It's still a marginal call, but those are the best windows in the first fortnight. The long period will make it a bit fat and straight at Cherry Hill, being a beach break, but it'll be clean.

Now, the real standout. Thursday the 3rd of September. After a week of waiting, we get a pulse. The swell jumps to 4 ft from the SSW, with a very long period of 21 seconds. The combined energy jumps to 1259 – that's strong wave energy. The wind is light and offshore from the west, meaning glassy, clean conditions. For a beginner break, 4 ft is perfect. That long period, though, means the sets will be well-spaced, and it could be a bit straight at the beach, but the quality of the wave will be head and shoulders above anything else. This is the pick of the entire forecast.

Friday the 4th and Saturday the 5th of September keep the goods coming. We're looking at 4 ft to 5 ft from the SSW, with periods of 16-19 seconds, and strong energy in the 1166-1370 range. The wind is a light offshore or a light cross-onshore, so it's still going to be fun. It's a bit more size for the average surfer, but still manageable.

After that, the swell slowly backs off into the 3 ft to 4 ft range through Sunday the 6th, with cleaner offshore winds, but the energy drops back to 664-810.

So, the call is this: the first week and a half is a write-off. Don't bother. The best bet is Thursday the 3rd of September at Cherry Hill. The combination of that 21-second period groundswell, light offshore wind, and a manageable 4 ft of swell makes it the standout. It's a long way out, so treat it as a promising call, but everything is lining up for a good day. The weekend after that, the 4th and 5th, will be solid too, just a touch bigger and with a little more wind. Get your board waxed for the 3rd.

Rusty.

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