8th Street Jetty Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Right folks, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s cookin’ for 8th Street Jetty over the next couple of weeks. Gotta be straight with you – it’s a tough stretch. The first recommenation doesn’t appear until Thursday the 20th of August, and even then, it’s a pretty grim start. We’ve basically got a solid run of poor conditions right through until the end of the month and into the very start of September. The water temp is sitting at a slightly warmer-than-average 77°, so that’s a little bonus, but it won't make up for the lack of waves.

Look, for a break that’s advanced-level and exposed to the swell, you’d hope for more. But for the first week and a bit, it’s all tiny. Thursday the 20th of August sees a weak 1 ft swell from the SE with a short 8-second period, and the combined energy is a measly 12. The wind is a light cross-onshore in the morning, turning into a moderate breeze that chops things up in the afternoon. Honestly, not worth paddling out for.

Friday the 21st brings a tiny bit more size – 3 ft from the NE – but that’s a windswell with a period of just 5 seconds. It’s gonna be messy with a moderate cross-shore wind all day. The energy creeps up to 45-50, but it’s still poor.

Saturday and Sunday the 22nd and 23rd? Forget it. Sloppy 0.7 ft to 1 ft leftovers. The afternoon on Sunday the 23rd actually gets a clean cross-offshore wind from the west, but there’s no swell to work with – just 0.7 ft on a very long 13-second period. A clean 0.7 ft wave is still a 0.7 ft wave.

Early next week (Monday 24th through Wednesday 26th) we finally see some proper offshore winds – clean and moderate from the WNW and NW. The swell stays tiny on Monday and Tuesday, though. Wednesday the 26th shows a slight pulse, with the swell hitting 4 ft in the afternoon from the SSE, but the period is a shocking 4-5 seconds – pure wind slop – and the energy is still weak at 90. That’s not surf; that’s just a choppy lake.

The rest of the month is more of the same: tiny swell, cross-shore or onshore winds, and poor conditions. There’s a tiny spike in combined energy to 113 on the afternoon of Tuesday, 1st September, with a 3 ft NE windswell, but the cross-onshore breeze will ruin it.

The only real standout in this entire 16-day window comes right at the very end. On Thursday the 3rd and Friday the 4th of September, we get a consistent stretch of clean, moderate offshore winds from the NW and NNW. The swell is only 1 ft to 2 ft from the east, with an 8-second period. The combined energy is still low (max 51 on Friday afternoon), and 8 seconds isn’t long-period magic, but with those offshore winds locking in all day, the jetty could be a fun little longboard or groveler zone. The wind will be fresh at 19 mph on Friday afternoon, which is strong, but it’s offshore, and that’s a trade-off some will take.

So, if you’ve got a log, mark your calendar for Friday, 4th September. The morning will be glassy and clean with a moderate offshore breeze. It’s not a classic, and you won’t be getting barreled, but it’s the best quality window in a pretty barren forecast.

Rusty.

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