Moss Landing Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s get into it.

Well, I gotta be straight with you – this outlook is a tough one. We’re looking at Moss Landing, and the word is pretty grim for the next 16 days. The swell is hanging around, but the wind is just never giving us a clean window. Every single session is marked with a cross-onshore flow, which is a real heartbreaker for a spot that can be magic.

The water is sitting at 59°F and the anomaly is only 0.9°F, so the temp is right about average for the time of year. Nothing to get excited about there.

The first few days are a total write-off. Monday the 20th through to the end of the week, we’ve got tiny, weak swell with poor surf conditions. The wind is a constant cross-onshore, chopping everything up. The combined energy is weak, ranging from 0 to 68 (low energy). There’s really nothing to paddle out for.

We hit a bit of a lull on Thursday the 23rd morning with zero energy, then Friday the 24th afternoon sees a spike in the combined energy up to 537 (strong wave energy) from a 2 ft SW swell with a 24-second period. That’s a very long-period groundswell, which can mean incredible shape at a point or reef, but at a beach break it can be too straight and walled. Still, the wind is cross-onshore, so the quality is shot. The model gives it a zero.

The best of a bad bunch looks like Sunday the 26th afternoon. The combined energy jumps to 693 (strong wave energy) with a 3 ft SW swell at 19 seconds. That’s again a long-period groundswell, full of potential for that deep-water peak. The wind is a light breeze from the SW, but it’s cross-onshore, so it’s still not clean. The model gives it a 1 out of 10, calling it “marginal.” It’s the closest we get to something rideable, but it’s a real gamble.

The following week, from the 27th of July onwards, the swell picks up a bit, with heights reaching 5 ft to 7 ft, and combined energy hitting 422 to 758 (strong to very strong wave energy). The problem? The wind is still cross-onshore or cross-shore. The size gets up to 7 ft on Tuesday the 28th afternoon, which is getting into expert-only territory, especially with poor conditions. That’s more of a kite-surfing setup than a clean paddle session.

Honestly, there is no standout here. It’s a 16-day stretch of poor surf quality. If you’re desperate, the Sunday the 26th afternoon has the most potential, but don’t expect perfection. Sometimes it just stays poor for a while, and the forecasts can change, but right now, I’d save your energy.

Rusty.

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