Ocean Beach Pier Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s coming up for Ocean Beach Pier.

To be straight with you, the next week and a half is a bit of a grind. We’ve got a long stretch of small, weak, and mostly messy conditions. The combined swell energy is stuck in the low hundreds for days, which is basically nothing. The water is sitting at 70°, which is a touch warmer than normal for this time of year, so that’s a nice bonus if you’re just floating around. But the waves? They’re tiny, with most of the swell heights hovering around 1 ft to 2 ft, and the wind is either onshore or cross-onshore, keeping things bumpy.

The first real glimmer of hope doesn’t show up until Wednesday, August 26th. The swell size bumps up to 5 ft in the morning from the SSW, with a moderate combined energy. It’s still a bit cross-onshore, but the periods are a solid 14 seconds, so there’s some actual groundswell in the mix. By the afternoon, it pushes to 6 ft, and the energy jumps up. This is the first time it starts looking like a proper surfable day, but the wind is cross-shore, and the quality is only marginal. It’s still the best we’ve seen so far.

The next standout, and honestly the best on offer in the whole 16 days, is shaping up for Friday, September 4th. We’ve got a SSW swell coming in at 4 ft in the morning, but the combined energy is solid, and the period is a very long 19 seconds. That’s proper groundswell. The wind is light and cross-onshore, so it won’t be glassy, but it’ll be clean enough. The long period means those waves will have some real push and shape, but at a beach and reef setup like Ocean Beach Pier, it might break a bit too straight. Still, this is the one to circle on the calendar. Saturday the 5th and Sunday the 6th of September keep the energy up with swell around 5 ft to 6 ft, but the wind stays a little tricky.

Because the swell gets over 5 ft on the 26th and again from the 4th to the 6th, the bigger days are probably better left for experienced surfers. Beginners might want to stay out of the way when it’s pushing 6 ft or 6 ft, especially with that long-period energy.

Crowds are a real possibility here, as Ocean Beach Pier is pretty popular. Get there early if you can.

So, the one true standout is Friday, September 4th. That’s your best bet for a taste of something special. The rest of the window is mostly small and marginal.

Rusty.

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