Otter Rock Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let’s talk about what’s coming up at Otter Rock in feet and miles per hour.

The next week and a half is a bit of a mixed bag, with the real highlight tucked away in the middle of the first week. We’ve got a slow start, then a couple of decent days, followed by a long stretch of mostly average or poor conditions. Hang in there, because Thursday morning, the 3rd of September, is the standout.

We kick things off on Tuesday, the 1st, with small, marginal waves. The swell is only about 4ft from the NW, period of 9 seconds, and that SSW cross wind at 9 mph is kicking up a little chop. Not worth getting excited about. Wednesday the 2nd gets bigger – around 8ft from the SSW – but the wind is bad, 22 mph in the morning and still messy in the afternoon. That’s a lot of water moving, but it’s going to be lumpy and ugly. Not a paddle session.

Now, Thursday the 3rd. This is the one. Thursday morning, we’ve got a solid 10ft swell rolling in from the WNW, with a period of 12 seconds. That’s a groundswell with some real push. The wind is light and cross-offshore from the SSE at 9 mph, keeping the faces clean. This is excellent surf, but with that size – over 8ft – it’s for experienced surfers only. The early session is the pick. Thursday afternoon holds at around 8ft, still clean with light winds. Pure quality.

Friday the 4th drops off a bit to about 5ft in the morning, still clean from the ESE, but the real treat is Friday afternoon. The swell drops to just a little over 2ft, but it’s a super long-period 18-second groundswell from the SW, and the wind goes glassy at 3 mph. It’s going to be glassy, clean, and perfect for a longboard or a fun board if the swell direction lines up right. Otter Rock is a point break, so that long-period energy should wrap in nicely. The water temp is 57°, which is about 3° colder than normal for this time of year – a bit nippy, so bring a thicker suit.

Saturday the 5th starts with a similar story – around 3ft, but glassy with no wind, and that long 16-second period. Morning is the time to go; by afternoon a light cross-onshore gets up.

Then we hit a dry spell. From Sunday the 6th all the way through to Tuesday the 15th of September, it’s mostly tiny, short-period wind swell or messy cross-shore wind. There are a few mornings with marginal 4ft to 5ft waves from the NW, but the wind is never clean for long. Periods drop to 7 or 8 seconds. There’s nothing here that screams “go,” and a lot of days end up with poor surf conditions. This is a real lull in the action.

The next potential flicker comes on Wednesday the 16th of September. We see around 8ft from the WNW with a 12-second period, and the wind is light and cross from the north. It looks decent on size, but the data suggests it might have some issues with tide or a bit of cross-chop. Worth a look for the experienced crew, but don’t book the day off work for it.

So, to sum it up: the best bet is undeniably Thursday the 3rd of September in the morning – big, clean groundswell, just for the experts. Friday the 4th afternoon is a close second for small-wave fun in glassy conditions. After that, it’s a waiting game for about a week until the 16th shows a bit of promise.

This is Rusty, signing off.

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