Ocean Beach Pier Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, this is Rusty comin' to you from the sand. I’ve been staring at the charts for Ocean Beach Pier, and I gotta be straight with you – it’s a tough stretch ahead. The pattern for the next sixteen days is pretty flat and uninspiring, with a long stretch of small, weak, and often wind-affected surf. The first real chance of a wave doesn’t show up until Friday morning, July 31st, and even then, it’s a struggle.

We kick off on Friday, July 31st, with a morning session. A south-southwest swell rolls in at 4 ft, with a period of 14 seconds – that’s a solid groundswell, but it’s got a lot of energy behind it, with a combined swell energy reading of 617 (moderate). The wind is light from the west-northwest at 6 mph, blowing directly onshore, and that’s the killer. The report flags it as marginal, with questionable tide conditions. It’s not going to be clean. By afternoon, the swell drops to 3 ft and the wind picks up to 9 mph onshore, making it a real mess.

From Saturday, August 1st, right through to Thursday, August 14th, it’s a grim run. The swell stays tiny, ranging from 1 ft to 3 ft, and the period hangs around 13-19 seconds. The wind is almost always onshore or cross-onshore, from the west or southwest, at 6-12 mph, kicking up little ripples and chop. Every single session in that period is rated as poor surf conditions. The combined energy is consistently low, dipping into the 100s and 200s, and even the longer period swells (15-19 seconds) are just too small to do anything with. The break is a beach and reef setup, exposed to the west, but with this lack of size and constant onshore wind, it’s more of a kite-surfing setup than a paddle-out. The consistency is there, but the quality is not.

Later in the window, on Wednesday, August 12th, there’s a slight uptick. The morning shows a 2 ft south-west swell with a 18-second period and a combined energy of 442 (moderate). The wind is light from the west at 6 mph and onshore, so it’s still not clean. By Thursday, August 13th, the swell holds at 3 ft with a 16-second period, but the wind swings to a moderate cross-onshore breeze at 12 mph, making it choppy. The very last day, Saturday, August 15th, shows a 3 ft south-west swell with a 16-second period and a combined energy of 420 (moderate), but again, the wind is onshore from the west-northwest at 9 mph.

Honestly, there’s no standout session here. The best on offer is probably that Friday morning, July 31st, simply because it’s the biggest swell of the whole run, but the onshore wind ruins it. For the second week, it’s just more of the same – small, weak, and wind-blown. If you’re desperate for a paddle, you could try for a dawny on the 12th or 15th when the wind is lighter, but keep your expectations low. The stretch from August 1st to 11th is a complete write-off, nine straight days of nothing worth paddling for. This is a tough spot for a while, but it’s the nature of the beast here sometimes. Forecasts can change, but right now, it’s a waiting game.

Rusty.

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