81st Street Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, I’m looking at the whole 16-day window here, and honestly, it’s a tough stretch. The only spot with any recommendations is 81st Street, but it’s a real mixed bag—nothing that’ll get your heart racing. There’s a stretch of days with little to no surfable energy, and the conditions are up and down. Let’s get into it.

The water temp at 81st Street is sitting at 79°, which is about average for this time of year—nothing to complain about there.

The first couple of days, from Friday the 28th through to the end of August, are pretty poor. We’ve got some tiny 1ft swell from the ESE, with periods around 8 seconds, but the wind is all over the place—cross-off, onshore, cross-on—and combined energy is weak, only in the 20–30 range. Not worth paddling out for.

September starts off similarly quiet. Monday the 1st and Tuesday the 2nd see that same 1ft, 7-second swell, but the wind finally turns offshore on the mornings. On Wednesday morning the 2nd, we get a bit of a bump—1ft at 11 seconds from the ESE, energy jumps to 52, and it’s clean with a light cross-off breeze. The comment says “surfable but very ordinary,” which is about right. It’s the best we’ve seen so far, but still tiny.

The rest of the first week stays small, with a couple of mornings showing offshore or clean conditions, but the swell never gets above 2ft. The energy is mostly in the teens to low 30s. On Saturday the 5th, the swell goes to 2ft but from the south with a 4-second period—that’s super short period, more like wind chop than real swell. Sunday the 6th has a 2ft swell from the NNE, but again only a 4-second period, so it’s not going to form up. The morning is glassy, though.

The second week sees a slight improvement. On Monday the 7th, there’s a 1ft, 12-second swell from the SE—that’s a long period groundswell, which is normally great, but it’s so small it’s barely surfable. The energy is 48, and the wind is offshore in the morning. It’s still just “surfable but very ordinary.” The rest of the week is back to poor conditions, with onshore winds and tiny swell.

The very last day, Saturday the 12th, is just plain ugly—25 mph cross-onshore wind, messy conditions, and tiny 1.0ft swell. That’s a write-off.

So, if you’re desperate, Wednesday morning the 2nd of September is your best bet for a clean, tiny wave, and Monday the 7th has a bit more period but still small. Nothing here is a standout. The energy is weak across the board—never breaking into the moderate range. For a beginner, the tiny size is fine, but the inconsistency and lack of quality make it a tough call. Honestly, this setup looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing when the wind picks up.

Rusty

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