8th Street Jetty Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let’s take a look at what’s on offer for the next couple of weeks at 8th Street Jetty.

You know, it’s a tough one to call. The truth is, the whole 16-day window is pretty flat and quiet. There’s a long stretch of nothing special here, so don’t go getting your hopes up too early. The first real chance for a wave doesn’t come until the 2nd of September. Even then, the conditions are messy.

Saturday the 29th and Sunday the 30th of August – tiny, poor surf. The swell is a meager 1 ft from the SE with a short period of 8 seconds. The energy is weak (33 and 20), and the wind is either cross or cross-on, so it’s not worth paddling out for.

Monday the 31st of August – still flat. 1 ft to 1 ft, poor. The wind on Monday morning is a clean cross-off, but there’s just no grunt in the water.

Tuesday the 1st of September – it drops further. Morning has 1 ft from the SE with a period of 7 seconds and energy of just 7. A tiny, weak ripple. The afternoon shows a weird 0.3 ft swell with a 13-second period, but that’s barely a breath.

Wednesday the 2nd of September – this is the most interesting bit of the whole outlook. The swell picks up to 2 ft from the SE, with a period of 11 seconds. The energy jumps to 121 in the morning and 156 in the afternoon. That’s moderate wave energy for a change. But the wind is a cross-on at 12–16 mph, so it’s going to be a choppy, messy affair. You might get a few workable ones if you’re keen, but don’t expect clean lines. For a beach/jetty setup, this is more of a wind-swell bump than a proper groundswell.

Thursday the 3rd of September – the swell is 3 ft in the morning from the SE, but with a period of only 6 seconds. That’s windswell, short and weak. The morning is clean with a cross-off wind, though. The afternoon on Thursday and into Friday sees clean offshore winds (NW at 9 mph and WNW at 12 mph), but the swell drops back to 2 ft and 1 ft. The waves will be small and weak, but the surface will be clean and glassy. If you’re on a longboard and need a paddle, Friday morning (4th of September) is your best bet for clean, gentle surf.

Friday the 5th to Monday the 8th of September – the trend continues. Tiny swell, mostly under 2 ft, with mostly clean winds. The morning of the 8th of September will be glassy with no wind, but the swell is only 1 ft from the ESE with a 5-second period. That’s a lake.

Wednesday the 9th of September – a long-period swell of 15 seconds shows up, pushing 1 ft from the SE with energy of 145. That’s a groundswell pulse, but it’s small and the wind is cross-on, making it choppy. For a beach/jetty, a long period like that can make things a bit straight and tricky, but there might be a clean corner if you’re patient.

Thursday the 10th of September and beyond – it’s all downhill. The swell drops to 0.3 ft or nothing, with poor conditions and strong winds. By the 11th and 12th, there’s essentially no surf.

The bottom line: There’s no standout session here. The best of a bad bunch is the morning of Friday the 4th of September. The swell is small (2 ft from the SE, 8 seconds) but you’ll have gentle offshore winds from the NW, keeping the surface clean. It’s a longboard wave, or a good day for a beginner to practice. The other small highlight is Wednesday the 2nd of September if you don’t mind the chop and want a bit more energy (2 ft, 11 seconds, 156 energy), but it won’t be pretty.

Honestly, for a stretch this long, you’re better off waiting for a proper pulse. The forecasts can change, but right now, it’s a quiet spell.

Rusty.

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