Coffee Break Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s take a look at what’s cookin’ at Coffee Break over the next couple of weeks.

Right off the bat, I gotta be straight with you—this stretch is a real tough one. Coffee Break is a consistent reef, and it’s got the exposure to handle a NNE swell, which is its optimum direction. But the problem is, the wind and the swell energy just aren’t lining up for us. The water temp is sitting at 84°, which is 0.5° above the long-term average, so it’s pretty much normal for this time of year.

We kick things off Tuesday, August 11th, with small, weak, short-period swell from the east, around 4ft and a period of just 7 seconds. The combined swell energy is a weak 139, and we’ve got a moderate cross-shore wind. The surf is labelled as poor, and that’s the truth. That same pattern holds through Wednesday and Thursday—cross-shore winds, small swell, and not much to get excited about. The energy does pick up a bit by Friday morning, August 14th, with 6ft swell and 364 energy, but it’s still short-period (8 seconds) and the wind is a fresh cross-shore with lumpy chop. That’s not surfable, that’s just messy.

Saturday and Sunday, August 15th and 16th, are more of the same: 5ft to 5ft swell, moderate to fresh cross-shore winds, and the wave quality stays poor. We’re in a real lull here.

Now, Monday, August 17th, we see a slight shift. The swell period stretches to 9 seconds, and the swell height sits around 5ft from the east. The combined energy is 300, which is moderate. But the wind is still cross-shore, and the surf is only labelled as marginal. The Tuesday morning, August 18th, is actually the closest we get to something decent. We’ve got 5ft swell from the east with a period of 11 seconds—that’s a proper groundswell—and the combined energy is 503, solid moderate-to-strong. The wind is a light cross-onshore, so the surface is small wind ripples, not clean. It’s still marginal.

After that, it’s back to the same old story. From Wednesday, August 19th, all the way through to Wednesday, August 26th, we’re stuck with small, weak swell (3ft to 5ft), short periods (5 to 9 seconds), and energy values that barely crack 100 or sit in the low hundreds. The wind is mostly gentle to moderate cross-shore, and the surf is consistently poor. The last few days of the forecast, like Sunday, August 23rd, have energy as low as 61 and 3ft swell. That’s barely a ripple.

So, what’s the call? Honestly, there’s no standout session here. The only real glimmer of hope is the Tuesday morning, August 18th, with the 11-second groundswell and that moderate energy, but the wind is cross-onshore, so it’s not clean. For a reef break like Coffee Break, you want that offshore wind, and we don’t get it once. The whole 16-day window is a write-off for quality surf. If you’re desperate, you might get a few grovelly closeouts on the 18th, but that’s about it. The forecast is pretty reliable for the near term, and it’s not good. The long-range stuff further out is just as grim.

Keep the board in the car, but don’t expect much. Forecasts can change, but right now, it’s a tough run.

Rusty.

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