Nauset Light Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let's be straight with you – this next stretch is a tough one for Nauset Light Beach. We're looking at a whole lot of small, messy stuff before anything worth getting wet for shows up. Hang tight, because there is a glimmer on the horizon, but it’s a long way off.

The pattern for the next two weeks-plus is mostly weak and wonky. We've got a lot of days where the swell is just tiny, under a foot and a half, and the wind is all over the place. It’s going to be a real test of patience. There's a solid gap of nothing worth paddling out for, spanning from now all the way through the 28th of August. It’s not going to be pretty.

Looking at the first week, it's pretty much a write-off. The energy is weak, and we're dealing with poor surf conditions almost every session. For the 17th and 18th, we've got light rain and onshore or cross-shore winds with swell around 1 to 3 feet and short, weak periods. The energy is weak too, with readings in the 10s and 20s. It's just a messy, bumpy ocean. You're better off doing something else. We get a bit of a clean-up on the 19th with a light breeze and some clean conditions, but the swell is still tiny at 2 feet, so it's not really surfable. The 20th and 21st stay small and choppy. The 22nd sees a bit of a pulse, with the combined energy jumping to 168, but the swell is only 2 feet with a short period, so it’s not going to translate into anything rideable, especially with that onshore wind.

The second week doesn't offer much of an improvement. The 23rd and 24th are clean but flat with waves barely breaking 0.6 feet. It's more of the same through the 25th, with tiny, junky surf. There's a little bump in size on the 26th and 27th, with swell up to 5 feet, but it’s coming from the S/SSE with a short period and onshore winds, which is a recipe for a choppy, closed-out mess at this exposed sandbar. Not worth the drive.

Now, I told you there was a glimmer. The standout in this whole bleak picture is the morning of Saturday, the 29th of August. The models are hinting at a real change. We finally get a proper pulse of long-period groundswell from the SE, with a period of 13 seconds. The swell is set to be around 2 feet, but the energy reading jumps to a moderate 210, and the wind looks clean and light. It’s still early days, so don’t book the day off work yet, but it's the first time in this whole forecast period where the stars might align for some clean, glassy conditions. This is a promising outlook, but a long-range call, so take it with a grain of salt.

The Saturday afternoon of the 29th also holds a bit of potential with a larger 3 feet of swell from the ESE, but the wind goes a bit cross and the energy is marginal at 331. It could offer a few options, but the morning is looking like the pick.

After that, we slide back into the small stuff for the 30th and 31st, and on into September 1st. It’s just a constant reminder that we’re in the doldrums. Keep the board in the car, but keep your expectations low. This is a beach break, and when the swell is this weak and the winds are mixed, it’s just not going to hold any shape.

Alright, that’s the long and short of it. It’s a waiting game. Maybe get the fishing rod out instead. I'll see you out there when it turns on.

Rusty.

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