Nauset Light Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let's be straight with you: the next couple of weeks are looking pretty bleak for a proper surf. There’s some small, weak swell trying to show up, but the wind and conditions are going to be fighting us the whole way. It’s one of those stretches where you might be better off polishing the board than getting wet.

We’ve got a long stretch of nothing on the horizon first. From now until the morning of Sunday, August 23rd, it’s all poor surf conditions. Tiny, short-period, wind-chopped slop mostly, with a few days of clean but absolutely gutless waves. You’ll see the swell energy creeping up into the double digits, but it’s all weak stuff—nothing with any push. The water is a touch warmer than usual for this time of year at 72.5°F, so you won’t need the thick suit, but you’ll be floating around doing nothing.

The only real glimmer in this whole window shows up on Sunday morning, August 23rd at Nauset Light Beach (Nauset-Light-Beach-1). The forecast finally nudges into “surfable” territory, but let’s not get carried away. We’ve got a modest 3.6ft of swell coming from the NE, and while it’s only a 6-second period, the energy is moderate, with the combined swell energy hitting (108). The wind is a light cross-offshore from the SSW, which should keep it clean. This spot is a fairly consistent sandbar that’s exposed to the swell, but it’s a beginner-friendly break. At 3.6ft, it’s right on the edge of being too big for someone just starting out, but for the rest of us, it’s about all we’re going to get. The direction from the NE is okay for it, but the short period isn't doing us any favors. This is the standout by default, and honestly, the only thing worth paddling out for. Expect the usual crew, as crowds are sometimes an issue here.

Beyond that, it’s a whole lot of nothing. The swell tries to pick up a bit around the 22nd, with waist-shoulder high waves on the 22nd afternoon, but it’s all cross-shore and chopped up. The rest of the week is a write-off. A few clean days with offshore winds, but the swell just dies completely, with energy readings dropping into single digits. We’re looking at a long, flat run from the 24th right through the end of the month, with nothing but tiny, wind-swell leftovers. The combination of small swell, poor quality, and onshore winds at an exposed beach means the only action might be for the kite crew, not the paddle surfers. We’ll have a better idea if anything changes, but for now, it’s a waiting game.

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