Manasquan Inlet Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, I’m looking at the New Jersey coast at Manasquan Inlet, and I’ve got to be straight with you – the next couple of weeks are looking pretty flat and quiet. This is one of those stretches where the ocean just goes to sleep. We’ve got a long gap of days where there’s really nothing worth paddling out for, so don't bother rushing to fill the tank. From now through to about the 3rd of September, it’s mostly tiny, weak, and messy. You’ll see small waves here and there, but the energy is pathetic – combined energy values are mostly down in the double digits and low triple digits, like 98 (weak) on the morning of the 28th, and then often dropping into the teens and twenties. Nothing is holding together. The first real mention of anything is a tiny pulse on the morning of Friday the 28th – Manasquan Inlet showing a tiny 3 ft from the SE, with a period of only 8 seconds. The water is a touch warmer than normal at 74°, but honestly, it’s a knee-high dribble with no push. That morning, the wind is glassy from the west, so it would look clean, but there’s just no power. The rest of that day and all of Saturday and Sunday are even smaller – we’re talking 1 ft to 2 ft with cross-shore breezes and choppy faces. Not worth the wetsuit. We then hit a real dead zone from the 30th through to the 3rd of September. There is a little one-star moment on the 3rd with some offshore wind from the WSW at 12 mph and a clean 1 ft wave from the ESE, but it’s ankle-snappers at best. It’s just a tease. Then from the 4th to the 6th of September, it’s all cross-onshore wind and tiny, blown-out junk. Nothing over 1 ft. Things do finally stir just a little on Monday the 7th of September morning: we get a glassy 2 ft wave from the east with a period of 11 seconds – that’s a longer period groundswell, which would normally mean better shape, but the height is still tiny. That single morning gets a one-star rating from the data, and it’s the best we’ve seen in over a week. After that, it goes straight back to the doldrums. Small, clean but flat for the rest of the run. The water temperature anomaly is only a touch warmer than normal on the 28th, but by the time we get to the second week, the numbers are gone, so I’d say it’s average for this time of year. No standouts here, fellas. A long blank run is not unusual for this area when the summer pattern goes stale. It tends not to stay this poor forever – forecasts can change – but right now, it’s a leave-the-board-in-the-car kind of outlook. We’ll keep an eye out. Rusty.

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