Oceanside Harbor Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s have a proper look at the surf window for the next couple of weeks.

Overall, it’s a slow start. We’ve got a run of days where the surf is just gutless and messy. The swell is small and the wind is mostly cross-onshore, chopping up what little push there is. It’s not gonna be worth paddling out for anything more than a quick splash to keep the rust off. This flat and weak spell looks set to last for the best part of a week, maybe even a bit longer. It’s a classic case of the ocean needing a breather, and we’re going to have to be patient. There are no real standouts in this whole run until we get to that last day of the forecast, and even that one, you've gotta take with a pinch of salt this far out.

Looking at Oceanside Harbor first, yeah the break is exposed and it picks up the west in the optimum direction, but the wind is mostly working against us. That spot is going to be a mess of small, cross-onshore dribble. The mornings on the 21st and 22nd are showing tiny waves, around `2ft` to `2ft`, with light wind but it’s still cross-onshore, and there’s barely enough energy to push you around. The onshore breeze kicks in a touch more in the afternoons, making it poor. This goes on for days, with the swell height barely moving and the energy staying weak, in the low hundreds.

Then we get a little pulse around the 26th and 27th. The swell jumps a bit, up to `5ft` from the south, and the energy is building to a moderate `948` and `1043`. But the conditions are still marginal, with that cross-onshore wind taking the shine off it. It’s still not great. The period is around 13 seconds, which is okay, but nothing special in these conditions.

It stays pretty average right through to the end of the month and into September. The swell comes and goes, sometimes down to `2ft`, sometimes up to `4ft`, but the wind just never cleans up. We're having to scrap for anything. The energy is moderate throughout, mostly in the `300` to `800` range, but the model keeps saying the surf is poor or marginal. It’s a frustrating stretch.

Now, the one glimmer of hope is the `4th of September`. The morning shows a big change. The wind swings around to the WNW at a light `3 mph`, and it's glassy. That’s what we want to hear. The swell is still small, around `3ft` from the SSW, but with a period of 17 seconds, it’s a proper groundswell. The energy is moderate at `435`, but the glassy conditions will make it look and feel ten times better. This is the standout of the window, but it’s a long way off, so you’d call it promising but far from certain. It’s a chance for some clean, lined-up waves at the Harbor, with the SSW swell. It’s not big, but on a glassy morning like that, it could be fun.

The afternoon of the 4th and into the 5th looks like the swell starts to fill in more, getting up to `6ft` from the south with a stronger `1386` energy, but the wind is due to swing back around to a cross-onshore, so it might get messy again. That morning of the 4th is the one to put a little star next to, it’s our best bet. But don’t go booking the time off work just yet, a lot can change in ten days. The rest of the window is a write-off, so if you’re desperate for a wave before then, bring the log and enjoy the small stuff. You win some, you lose some.

Rusty.

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