8th Street Jetty Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, let’s get this straight – the outlook for the next 16 days around 8th Street Jetty is pretty grim. You’re not looking at much to get excited about, and there’s a long, long stretch of flat or poor conditions to start. The first sniff of anything surfable doesn’t show up until Sunday the 20th of September, and even then it’s barely worth the paddle.

For a spot that’s ‘very consistent’ and fairly exposed to the swell, this is a real let-down. The water temperature is sitting at a notable 76°F which is 6°F warmer than usual for this time of year – that’s a big anomaly, feels like a warm bath out there. The optimum direction is from the NE, and we just don’t see that lining up with any quality.

From Monday the 14th right through to Saturday the 19th of September, it’s a dead loss. We’ve got tiny swell heights, mostly between 0.7 ft and 3 ft, with short periods (5 to 12 seconds) and weak combined wave energy (between 23 and 85). Winds are messy – cross-off, cross-on, or onshore for most of it, and the wave comments all say ‘poor surf conditions’. Don’t even bother.

Sunday the 20th of September shows a tiny glimmer. The morning brings a clean 3 ft from the SSW at 6 seconds, combined energy of 85 (weak), with a light cross-off breeze from the WSW. The comment says ‘surfable waves but very ordinary conditions’ – it’s not good, but it’s the first thing we’ve had. The afternoon falls apart with a 35 km/h cross-shore from the NE, so get your session in early.

Monday the 21st of September through to Wednesday the 23rd of September, the swell actually builds to 5 ft up to 7 ft from the E, with periods of 7 to 9 seconds and combined energy hitting 559 (moderate). But here’s the killer – the wind is cross-onshore or onshore at 20 to 30 km/h. The wave comment stays stuck on ‘poor surf conditions’. This is a beach/jetty setup, so with that much wind and chop, it’s looking more like a kite-surfing day than a paddle-surfing day.

Thursday the 24th of September has a morning window: 4 ft from the E at 9 seconds, combined energy 203 (moderate), with a light cross-off breeze from the W. The comment is again ‘surfable waves but very ordinary conditions’. Not a standout, but it’s clean.

Friday the 25th and Saturday the 26th of September drop back to tiny surf – 1 ft to 3 ft, weak energy (53 to 101), with mostly onshore or cross-onshore winds. Nothing doing.

Sunday the 27th of September shows a bit more promise. We’ve got 4 ft in the morning and 4 ft in the afternoon from the ESE at 8 seconds, combined energy up to 172 (moderate). The morning has a light cross-off from the N, but the afternoon goes glassy with 5 km/h from the E. That afternoon session looks like the best chance for a clean wave – small, but clean.

Monday the 28th of September has a clean morning with 3 ft from the ESE at 9 seconds, combined energy 172 (moderate), and a light offshore from the NW. Again, it’s ‘surfable waves but very ordinary conditions’, but it’s clean. The afternoon goes light cross-onshore.

Tuesday the 29th of September has a clean morning with 2 ft from the ESE, but the afternoon picks up to 3 ft from the ENE at 6 seconds, combined energy 100 (weak), with a gentle offshore from the WNW. The comment says ‘surfable waves but very ordinary conditions’ – it’s the last day in the window and it’s nothing special.

If I had to pick the best on offer across this whole 16-day period, it would be the glassy afternoon of Sunday the 27th of September. The swell is small at 4 ft from the ESE, but with glassy conditions and combined energy of 172, it’ll be clean and rideable. The other slim pick is the clean offshore morning of Monday the 28th of September with 3 ft from the ESE.

For the rest of it, you’re looking at a whole lot of nothing with a few ordinary windows. Keep an eye on the forecasts – it’s that time of year where things can change, but for now, don’t get your hopes up.

Rusty

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