Domes (Rincon) Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here again. Straight up: the next couple weeks at Domes are about as flat as a pancake. We’ve got a long dry spell of weak, tiny swell, and only one morning that looks even remotely worthwhile. If you were hoping for some proper waves, you might want to lock in some other plans, because this forecast is mostly about small, messy surf and cross-shore winds.

The first few days—starting Saturday the 1st through Friday the 7th—are basically dead. There’s a bit of glass on the water in the mornings, like that clear, calm Sunday the 2nd, but the swell’s only 0.5m from the NE at 7 seconds. That’s shin-high slop. Afternoons bring that storm threat and a cross-shore breeze, which only chops things up more. Swell energy’s weak, too—numbers like 25 and 15 are just noise. For a beginner, maybe a paddle-out, but honestly, you’ll spend more time sitting than surfing.

Then Saturday the 8th and Sunday the 9th roll in, and things pick up a hair. Still small—0.8m to 0.9m from the NE—but the period’s only 6 seconds, so it’s still windswell mush. Energy’s in the low 50s to 60s, and the wind’s cross or cross-off. The standout, and I mean the only one, is Sunday morning the 9th: 0.9m of NE swell, light ENE breeze at 10 km/h, clean conditions. It’s surfable, but just barely—soft, lumpy waves that close out more than they wall. It’s a last-resort kind of session.

After that, it’s a fade to nothing. Monday the 10th through the 16th sees mornings with 0.7m to 1.0m of short-period NE junk, but by the 14th it’s dropped to 0.1m with a long-period 12-second swell that’s all bark and no bite. The energy readings crash to single digits—6 or 3—and the wind stays cross or cross-off. By the weekend of the 15th and 16th, it’s practically flat, with just 0.1m or 0.2m waves.

One note on the water: at the start, on that first Saturday, the temp’s 29° with a +0.8° anomaly—about normal for the time of year, so nothing unusual.

The big issue is the swell direction. Domes needs a solid NNW groundswell to work its magic, but we’re stuck with NE windswell and short periods. That’s why everything’s so weak. The only window worth a look—and I’m stretching the word “worth”—is Sunday morning the 9th, when you might grab a clean little wave if you’re not picky. Otherwise, leave the board in the car and wait for the next pulse.

It’s a tough stretch, but this coast never stays dead forever. Hang in there.

Rusty

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