81st Street Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s cookin’.

To be straight with you, mate, the next couple of weeks are pretty flat and lifeless for our stretch. There’s not a single standout session in the whole 16-day window. If you’re desperate for a paddle, there are a few mornings where it’s not completely hopeless, but you’ll be working hard for next to nothing. The first real chance for anything even remotely surfable doesn’t show up until Wednesday the 2nd of September, and even then, it’s tiny.

Starting off, Saturday the 29th of August is a write-off. We’ve got 1 ft of weak, short-period SE swell (36 energy) and a stiff onshore ENE wind at 12 mph. Conditions are messy. Sunday the 30th sees the swell drop in energy (27) but the morning goes glassy with a SSW breeze at 3 mph. That’s the only clean window, but with only 1 ft on offer, it’s a total knee-slapper. By Monday the 31st, the wind goes light offshore from the W at 6 mph in the morning, so the surface will be clean, but there’s basically no push (17 energy). It’s a longboard or stay-home kind of day.

The best of a bad bunch comes Wednesday the 2nd of September. The morning sees a gentle offshore from the W at 9 mph, with the swell bumping up to 1 ft from the ESE, but the period stretches to 11 seconds, lifting the combined energy to 55. It’s surfable, but very ordinary. Thursday the 3rd has a similar vibe in the morning with a cross-offshore NW breeze at 6 mph, but energy drops back to 45. After that, we hit a long, flat gap. From Friday the 4th of September all the way through to Monday the 7th, the waves are tiny (0.7 ft to 1.0 ft) and the wind is mostly onshore or cross. Not worth getting wet.

Tuesday the 8th of September gives us a brief flash of hope. The morning goes glassy with a light E breeze at 3 mph, and the swell is a clean 1 ft from the SE with a 13-second period, pushing the energy to 78. That’s the best-looking wave of the whole forecast – clean, glassy, and a little bit of period – but it’s still only 1 ft. For 81st Street, that’s about as good as it’s going to get in this window, and it’s still only a "surfable but very ordinary" rating. The rest of that week stays weak, with a small bump in energy on Wednesday the 9th (107 energy) but the swell is short-period and cross-shore wind messes up the afternoon.

By the second weekend, Saturday the 12th of September, we see a weird spike: 4 ft from the NE but with a woeful 4-second period. That’s pure windswell, messy and weak, with an onshore wind. Sunday the 13th sees 3 ft from the ENE with 6-second period and 120 energy, but it’s being hammered by a 16 mph NNW cross-shore wind. That setup looks more interesting for a kite surfer than a paddle surfer.

So, the honest truth? There’s no real standout here. If you had to pick a moment, it’s Tuesday morning the 8th of September. Glassy, a little bit of period, and the water is a touch warmer than normal at 79°. But don’t expect anything world-class. This is a dry spell, and for this area, it’s pretty normal to have a blank run like this. Forecasts can change, but for now, grab a coffee and wait.

Rusty.

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