Ocean Beach Pier Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s coming our way. Honestly, it’s a pretty grim picture for the next couple of weeks. We’ve got a long stretch of small, messy, onshore wind-affected surf that’s just not worth paddling out for. The first real glimpse of anything rideable doesn’t show up until Tuesday, August 11th, and even then it’s only a marginal call.

The whole pattern is dominated by weak, short-period SW swell that’s being blown out by constant onshore and cross-onshore winds. The combined wave energy is mostly moderate, sitting between 131 and 487, but that energy is all windslop and chop. The water temp is about average for this time of year, so no surprises there.

We’re looking at a gap of about seven days with no real recommendations. The only day that even gets a score above zero is Tuesday, August 11th, and it’s still just a 1 out of 10. That morning, Ocean Beach Pier (beach and reef) sees a cross-shore wind from the SSW at 15 km/h, with a 1 ft SW swell at a long 18 seconds. That’s a long-period groundswell, which is interesting, but it’s tiny. The combined energy sits at 300, which is moderate. The cross-shore wind will keep it smoother than the rest of the week, but with such small waves it’s really only a session for a longboard on a high tide, and even then, it’s a gamble. The break is consistent, but crowds are often there, so don’t expect it to be empty.

The rest of the period is a write-off. The swell bumps up a little by Saturday, August 15th, with a 3 ft SW swell at 16 seconds in the afternoon, and the energy hits 554, but it’s still onshore wind from the west. That’s just ugly, choppy, and borderline unsurfable. For a beach-and-reef setup like this, with that much wind and small, weak swell, it honestly looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing.

Hang in there, but don’t hold your breath. The forecasts can change, but right now, this is a solid two-week stretch of poor surf.

Rusty.

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