E-Bay Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, it’s Rusty here. Let’s look at what’s coming together at E-Bay.

The next 16 days are a real mixed bag. We’ve got a lot of onshore wind and marginal surf to slog through, but there’s a couple of beautiful windows of glassy, clean conditions hiding in the second week. Don’t get your hopes up for the first week or so, because it’s pretty grim. There’s a stretch of over a week where the surf is either poor or just barely passable, so you’ll be waiting a while.

Alright, let’s start with the immediate outlook. Saturday the 29th into the start of the week is looking rough. We’ve got a risk of thunderstorms and a moderate breeze from the south-southeast, with wave heights around 2 ft to 5 ft out of the SSW. The swell energy is moderate (377 to 1191), but it’s all onshore wind, making it choppy and messy. The water temp is a warm 86°, which is about normal for this time of year. This is not the time to paddle out unless you’re desperate.

Moving into the middle of the first week (Wednesday the 2nd and Thursday the 3rd), the swell drops a bit to 3 ft to 4 ft, and the energy fades into the mid-hundreds (756 down to 372). The wind stays onshore and cross-onshore, so the surface stays bumpy. It’s still marginal at best.

Friday the 4th is a write-off – poor surf with 3 ft waves and weak energy in the 200s. Skip it.

The weekend of the 5th and 6th of September brings a slight bump in size (4 ft on Saturday morning) from the S, but the wind is onshore and cross-onshore, so it’s not going to be pretty. The water looks agitated.

Now, here’s where things get interesting. If you’ve got patience, the real payoff comes around the 8th of September. Tuesday morning, the 8th, we see a window of glassy conditions with a light southwesterly breeze. The swell is tiny at 1 ft from the S, but it’s a very long period groundswell (21 seconds), which means it’ll have that lully, powerful feel. The energy is low (254), but the clean conditions are a massive plus.

The standout of the whole forecast, without a doubt, is Wednesday the 9th of September. Morning and afternoon both have glassy conditions – calm winds and a 3 ft S swell with a solid 16-second period. The energy is moderate (515 and 477). This is a proper, clean, glassy day with a nice long-period swell. The wind is perfect, the waves will be clean. This is the one to circle on the calendar.

Thursday the 10th starts similarly glassy in the morning, but the wind goes cross-onshore in the afternoon, so get out early.

The following weekend, the 12th of September, is another absolute gem. Saturday morning we’ve got a light northeasterly breeze going glassy, with a 3 ft SSW swell and 15-second period. By the afternoon, it’s dead calm and glassy, with a 4 ft SSW swell. The energy is moderate (519 and 545). This is another top-tier day.

Sunday the 13th has a glassy morning again, with a 3 ft SSW swell, so it’s a good way to finish the run.

So, to wrap it up: the first week is a write-off. The best on offer is a tie between Wednesday the 9th and Saturday the 12th of September. Glassy, clean, 3 ft to 4 ft swell with a nice long period – that’s the stuff you wait for. E-Bay is a reef, so it handles those long-period swells well. Crowds are sometimes a factor, so be prepared for company on those days.

Keep your eyes on the sky and be ready to go.

Rusty.

Read more