Church Cove Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s take a look at what’s shaping up for Church Cove. I gotta be straight with you – this is a tough one. We’ve got a long 16-day window, but for the most part, the surf just isn’t playing ball. The wind is all over the place, and the conditions are pretty grim for most of it.

We’re starting off with a real dud. Thursday the 10th has some swell, about 3ft to 7ft from the WSW, but the wind is howling onshore at 19 mph. The water is sitting at 64°, which feels a touch warmer than normal for this time of year, but that’s the only good thing. The wave energy is weak in the morning (93) and then picks up to a moderate 459 in the afternoon, but it’s all messy. Poor surf, plain and simple.

Friday the 11th is a little better, but still not a goer. The swell drops to 5ft from the west with a 9-second period. The wind is a cross-shore from the NW at 9 mph in the morning, but it’s still only marginal at best. The afternoon turns choppy again. Saturday and Sunday the 12th and 13th are more of the same – onshore and cross-onshore winds with lumpy, poor surf. The swell energy hits moderate numbers, like 509 on Sunday morning, but with the wind, it’s just a mess.

We hit a real gap here. From Monday the 14th right through to the end of the first week, everything is flagged as poor. The waves are there, around 3ft to 7ft, but the wind is either onshore or creating a nasty chop. There’s a short window on Wednesday the 16th morning where the swell gets up to 8ft from the WNW with a 10-second period, and the wind is a clean cross-offshore 16 mph. That’s the only time the conditions look clean, but it’s still only rated as marginal. That’s a big swell for a spot that’s inconsistent and only fairly exposed. For beginners, anything over 5ft is a handful, and 8ft is getting into expert territory. The energy is a very strong 978, so there’s plenty of push, but it might be a bit too much for the setup.

The second week looks even more bleak. Swell drops off, and the wind stays on it. There’s a couple of clean moments on the 22nd and 23rd of September, with cross-offshore winds and a 4ft to 5ft west swell, but the period is a long 12 to 13 seconds. That’s a groundswell, and at a spot like this, a long period west swell can be tricky. The energy is strong (over 400), but the conditions are still only marginal. The 24th and 25th are just more of the same onshore wind and poor surf.

Honestly, if you’re looking for a standout, I can’t give you one. The best of a bad bunch is probably Wednesday the 16th morning, but that’s a big, powerful wave with a clean look. If you’re an expert, it might be worth a look, but it’s not a day for the average surfer. The rest of the window is mostly a write-off. With the constant onshore wind and the lumpy conditions, this setup looks more interesting for a kite surfer than a paddle surfer for most of the forecast.

Rusty.

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