8th Street Jetty Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here, and I gotta be straight with you. The outlook for the next 16 days at 8th Street Jetty is a tough one. We're staring down a long stretch of mostly poor surf conditions, with very little to get excited about. The water is sitting at a touch warmer than normal for this time of year, around 76°, but that's about the only thing that's slightly above average.

From Wednesday the 19th all the way through to the end of August, the story is the same. The swell is tiny, mostly under 3ft, and coming from the SE or ESE, but the energy is weak. We're talking combined energy values in the teens and twenties, and even the higher ones like 49 on the 19th morning or 201 on the 31st afternoon are still just too small to get anything going. The wind is all over the place, but mostly cross or cross-onshore, which is just making a mess of things. The wave comment is "poor surf conditions" nearly every single session. Honestly, it's a bit of a bummer. Even the few glassy moments, like the Thursday morning the 20th, only have 1ft of swell, so it's just flat and clean.

The first real glimmer of hope doesn't come until Saturday, the 29th of August. The morning is looking like the best on offer in the whole run. We'll have a 2ft swell from the SE, with a period of 9 seconds, and more importantly, a clean offshore wind from the WNW. The combined energy is still only 70, so it's not going to be powerful, but it'll be surfable. The afternoon holds up with a similar 2ft swell, but the wind turns cross-off. It's nothing special, but it's the first time we've had consistent clean conditions and a little bit of height.

After that, the first few days of September are a mixed bag. The 1st of September afternoon has a bit of a longer period at 12 seconds, but the swell is only 1ft. The 2nd of September morning has a 2ft swell with a 11-second period and a light cross-off breeze, giving a combined energy of 129, which is the highest we've seen. It's still only "surfable waves but very ordinary conditions," so temper your expectations. For a spot that's usually very consistent like 8th Street Jetty, this is a long, flat spell. The setup is exposed to the NE for optimum swell, but we're not getting it.

So, to wrap it up: if you're desperate, the Saturday morning of the 29th of August is your best bet for a clean, small wave. Otherwise, you're waiting for those very ordinary sessions in early September. The rest of the time, it's probably more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing given the wind and poor quality. Keep an eye on the forecast, because it can't stay this poor forever.

Rusty.

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