Huntington Pier Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Right, grab a coffee and settle in, ‘cause I’m gonna take you through the next couple of weeks at Huntington Pier. We’ve got a fair bit of onshore wind and some small, pretty average surf for most of this run, but there are a couple of moments down the track that are worth circling on the calendar.

For the first week and a half, from now through to the end of July, the surf is mostly in the 2 ft to 4 ft range, but don’t get too excited. The wind is coming from the SSW, SW, and WSW, and it’s almost always onshore or cross-onshore. That means the wave faces are going to be chopped up and messy. This is flat-out not a good time for a paddle. The swell direction is mostly from the SSW and SW. For a wave to really work at Huntington Pier, you want it from the WSW, and we just aren’t seeing that. When the swell is from the SSW or S, it's not lining up right, and the period is decent enough (around 13-18 seconds, so there’s some energy in the water), but the wind ruins it. The combined swell energy is moderate most days, sitting between 300 and 900 in the brackets, so the ocean does have some pulse, but it’s not clean.

The water temperature is running pretty normal for this time of year, nothing weird going on there.

Now, let’s roll through the days. Sunday the 19th through Tuesday the 22nd is a write-off – scores are poor, all onshore wind. Wednesday the 22nd has a slight moment with a light onshore breeze but the swell is a tiny 3 ft, so still not worth a wetsuit. The pattern of "marginal" or "poor" conditions just keeps rolling, with all the decent-sized days getting wrecked by wind.

The first real standout is hiding in the tail end of the period. Thursday, July 30th is when things start to look genuinely interesting. The swell jumps up. Thursday morning has surf at 4 ft from the SSE with a light, clean WSW breeze, and the energy is getting serious at 1288 in the brackets. Then that afternoon it stays solid at 5 ft from the same direction, still clean with a light offshore. That is a solid, long-period south swell – period is 15 seconds – and with that wind, it should be really clean. This could be the best session of the whole run. The wait will be worth it.

Friday, July 31st, the swell is even bigger – 7 ft from the S, but here’s the catch. The morning has that same lovely light offshore from the WSW, but the wave is 7 ft. That’s getting into the "for experts only" territory for many, and with a 16-second period, it’s gonna be a powerful, lully groundswell. That can be tricky at a beach break like this because it can break too straight. It'll look incredible from the sand, but only the sharpest surfers are going to get the good ones. The afternoon gets wrecked by a 12 mph onshore from the west, turning it into a washing machine.

Saturday, August 1st is the other standout. The swell is a big 7 ft from the S in the morning, again with a light onshore wind, so it’s clean but big. A 13-second period so a bit more manageable than the day before, but still a deep water swell. This is a day for experienced surfers on a bigger board. The combined energy is very strong at 1397 in the brackets. The crowds at Huntington Pier are *often* busy, so on a Saturday with a good run of swell, expect plenty of company in the water. For the average surfer, the morning of August 1st is your best bet of the whole window – big, clean, and powerful.

Then from Sunday the 2nd, the surf just drops off a cliff again back into the 2 ft to 3 ft range and the wind is back on the nose. Nothing to see there.

So, to sum it up: the next week is a complete write-off. Don’t bother paddling out until late in the month. The one day to really get excited about is Thursday, July 30th and Saturday, August 1st. Thursday will be the cleaner, more manageable day. Saturday is for the big wave chargers. The wait is long but the payoff in the last few days looks good.

Rusty.

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