56th St Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, this is Rusty.

Let’s be straight with you – it’s gonna be a tough stretch. We’ve got a long patch of small, choppy, and downright frustrating surf coming up. The first solid look at anything rideable isn’t until Monday, July 6th, and even then, it’s a real scratch session.

The only game in town is 56th St. It’s a sheltered spot and that’s the only reason there’s even a wave. The water is sitting at 67°, which is about a degree and a half warmer than normal for this time of year – not a huge deal, just a little bit of a balmy feel.

Monday afternoon the 6th sees a long-period groundswell pushing in from the SSW with 2ft of swell, but the period is a deep 16 seconds. That usually means nice lines, but here it’s getting wrecked by a moderate cross-onshore wind out of the W at 12 mph. The combined energy is moderate at best (500), but the wind will have it choppy and messy. The swell direction is SSW, which is off the optimum SW for this break, so it’s fighting an uphill battle.

Tuesday morning the 7th is the best window for the whole week, and that’s saying something. You’ll get offshore glassy conditions from the SSW at just 3 mph with 3ft of swell and an 18-second period – that’s serious energy (726) for such a small wave. It’ll be clean and lined up, but the water will be fat with long gaps between sets. It’s a marginal call on the tide, but if you hit it right, it’s the only time you’ll get a proper roller. Crowds are a possibility there, so bring your patience.

After that brief moment of hope, we slide right back into junk. Tuesday afternoon through to Thursday the 16th is a graveyard of cross-onshore winds, mostly 1ft to 3ft of swell, and energy levels dropping from the 300s to the 100s. This is kite-surfing territory, not paddle surfing. Forget about it.

The next flicker of life comes on Saturday, July 18th. We get a new pulse from the SSE with 2ft to 3ft of swell, a period of 20 seconds and later 17, and some serious energy pushing through (673 and 675). The problem? A moderate cross-onshore wind from the SSE at 12 mph is going to chop it up again. It’s a long way out, so keep an eye on it, but right now it’s another promise that gets broken by the wind.

Sunday the 19th is more of the same – a bit of swell, a bit of wind, never clean. We fade out after that with small, weak signals.

Bottom line: mark your calendar for Tuesday morning, July 7th. That’s the one. The rest is a waiting game.

Rusty.

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