Moss Landing Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Look, I’ve been staring at the charts for Moss Landing and I gotta be straight with you: it’s a tough run. We’ve got a full 16-day window stretching from Friday the 28th of August right through to Saturday the 12th of September, but honestly, there’s no day in that whole stretch that I’d call a proper surf session. Every single time slot comes back with “poor surf conditions” or “marginal surf forecast,” and the scores are rock bottom. That’s a long dry spell, and for this area, a blank run like this is pretty normal when the stars don’t line up.

Let’s start from Friday morning, the 28th. The water’s sitting at 62°F, which is a touch warmer than average for this time of year – a little anomaly of 2°F above normal, so at least you won’t freeze waiting for a wave that isn’t there. Swell is tiny, only 3 ft from the WNW with a short period of 7 seconds, and the combined wave energy is weak at 90. It’s a light onshore breeze at 6 mph, so it’s messy. That sets the tone for the whole first week. Saturday the 29th has a bit more height at 4 ft in the afternoon, but the period is still short (7 seconds), the wind is cross-onshore at 9 mph, and energy bumps to 169 (moderate), but it’s choppy and poor. Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday... it’s all the same story: tiny swell, cross-onshore winds, and a "poor" tag. The swell direction is mostly WNW, which doesn’t match the optimum NW direction for this break, so it’s a lousy angle.

We get a glimmer on Thursday morning the 3rd of September. A long-period groundswell from the SW at 2 ft with a period of 19 seconds – that’s a very long period, and the combined energy jumps to 324 (strong). But the height is tiny, and the wind is still cross-onshore at 6 mph, so it’s just a marginal forecast. That’s about as good as it gets. Friday the 4th has a little more size (3 ft) from the WNW with an 11-second period, but the energy is moderate at 146, and the wind is onshore again. By the second week, things don’t improve. Wednesday the 9th of September morning has 3 ft from the WNW with 8-second period and energy of 100, but it’s still a poor call. Thursday the 10th afternoon sees a SW groundswell at 3 ft with a 17-second period and energy spiking to 572 (very strong), but it’s only a marginal rating with light cross-onshore breeze. That’s a tease, not a session.

The bottom line: there’s no standout, no best day. I wouldn’t paddle out for any of this. If you’re desperate, the Thursday the 10th afternoon has the most energy from a long-period SW swell, but with tiny height and cross-onshore wind, it’s more of a novelty than a wave. For the rest, it’s a kite-surfing kind of setup – onshore winds and weak swell. Keep an eye on the charts, but don’t hold your breath. This one’s a dud.

Rusty.

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