Moss Landing Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Gotta be straight with you: this 16-day window for Moss Landing looks like a real dud. There’s hardly any quality on offer, so we’re looking at a long, quiet stretch.

The water’s sitting at around 62°, which is a touch warmer than usual for this time of year. But that's about the only highlight.

We’re starting right now, Monday the 17th, and through the rest of August, it’s all small, weak, and messy. Swell sizes barely nudge past 3ft, with periods mostly in the 7-9 second range – just windswell junk. The wind is a persistent cross-onshore from the west or southwest at 6 to 9 mph, keeping the surface bumpy. The combined energy is mostly in the low to mid 100s (117 to 243), which is only moderate energy, but with the onshore wind, it’s just not worth paddling out. Even the cleaner mornings with offshore winds on Wednesday the 19th and Saturday the 22nd still have tiny swell with no push.

We finally see a bump in size on Friday the 28th of August afternoon, with the swell hitting 4ft, but the period is a short 8 seconds and it's still cross-on. The combined energy ticks up into the mid 200s (246), but the onshore wind keeps things choppy.

The only real standout in the whole period is Tuesday, September 1st morning. We get a 304 combined energy reading from a clean-looking 2ft swell coming from the southwest with a very long 18-second period. That’s a proper groundswell signal. But the size is tiny, so it’s more of a hint of what could be. The afternoon sees the biggest swell of the outlook at 5ft from the WNW, but the period drops to a pathetic 6 seconds and the wind picks up to 12 mph cross-onshore, making it a choppy mess.

Honestly, for the whole 16 days, there isn't a single standout session you’d want to plan your life around. For a spot that’s very consistent, it’s a real surprise, but sometimes forecasts are what they are.

In terms of other uses, with the constant onshore wind and occasional moderate swell, this setup might look more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing on the windier afternoons.

Stay patient, keep an eye on the charts, and hopefully the forecasts change.

Rusty.

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