Jennette's Pier Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Right, let’s have a look at what’s coming up for Jennette’s Pier. I won’t sugar-coat it: this stretch looks like a tough one for us wave-starved crew. The whole 16-day window is a real mixed bag of tiny, weak swells and pretty ordinary conditions. There’s not a single standout day where everything lines up perfectly, so we’re going to have to pick our moments.

The water temp is running a touch warmer than normal for this time of year, sitting around 83° on Monday afternoon. Nice for a paddle, but that’s about the only easy part.

We start out with next to nothing. Monday afternoon has a pathetic 1.0 ft of swell out of the SE with a short period of 6 seconds, and combined energy is a measly 9. That’s barely a ripple, and with a risk of thunderstorms and a cross-off breeze, it’s poor. Tuesday and Wednesday stay similarly flat, with tiny 0.7 ft to 1.0 ft waves. The only highlight is Wednesday afternoon when the wind goes glassy, but there’s just no swell to work with.

We get a slight pulse on Friday the 14th, with a 2 ft to 3 ft spike from the NNE, but the period is a shocking 3-5 seconds. That’s just wind chop. The cross to cross-on wind won’t help. Combined energy climbs to 47, but that’s not saying much. It’s still poor. The weekend is more of the same: tiny, weak, and onshore. There’s really nothing to get excited about.

Then there’s a long gap of nothing worthwhile until Tuesday the 18th. On Tuesday morning, we finally see some proper energy arrive: a 2 ft swell from the east with a long period of 15 seconds. The combined energy jumps to 183, which is moderate. The wind is light and cross-off, so it should be clean. But the size is tiny, and that long-period groundswell can be tricky at a beach/jetty setup like this, often breaking too straight. It’s surfable, but very ordinary, and the afternoon turns choppy.

The best chance, if you can call it that, comes on Wednesday the 19th. The swell builds to 3 ft in the morning from the ESE with an 11-second period, and the combined energy is 337. By the afternoon, it hits 4 ft with a 12-second period and energy at 487. That’s moderate wave energy. The problem is the wind is onshore and moderate, making it choppy and poor. If that wind had swung offshore, this would have been something.

The last real glimmer is on Sunday the 23rd. The morning shows a 5 ft swell from the ENE, but with a short period of just 6 seconds. Combined energy is 161. The wind is offshore and light, so it’ll be clean. However, that 5 ft is right on the edge for beginners, and with that short period, it’ll be a bit of a messy shorebreak. The afternoon goes glassy with 4 ft, but again, the period is only 6 seconds. It’s surfable, but very ordinary.

Honestly, for a beach/jetty, the wind is often not our friend here, and the swell windows are small and poorly timed. For any decent wave with clean conditions, you’re looking at the 23rd morning as the best bet, but even then, it’s nothing to write home about. This whole period feels more like a kitesurfer’s window than a paddler’s, with that onshore wind and short-period chop being more interesting for them.

Keep your eyes on the forecasts, because it tends not to stay this poor for long, but for now, temper those expectations.

Rusty

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