Otter Rock Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let’s get into it.

The next week or so at Otter Rock is going to test your patience. We’ve got a real mixed bag of small, clean windows and plenty of choppy, onshore junk. The real standout window is this Saturday morning, the 5th of September. That’s the one to circle.

Saturday morning kicks off with some glassy conditions, a light SSW wind at just 3 mph, and a clean 3 ft SW groundswell with a long 16-second period. The water’s sitting at 56°, which is a bit colder than normal for this time of year, so don’t forget a good hood or vest. The combined energy is moderate at 579, and the wave comment is "expect very good surf conditions". That’s your best bet by a long shot. A point break like Otter Rock loves that long-period SW groundswell – it’ll wrap in nicely with proper shape and good lines. Keep an eye on the crowds, though; it’s "often" busy here, so get out early.

Sunday morning (the 6th) is another glassy morning with a S wind at 3 mph, but the swell drops to 2 ft and the period backs off to 15 seconds. It’s still clean and worth a paddle if you’re desperate, but it’s a clear step down from Saturday. Combined energy drops to 360.

Monday morning (the 7th) is glassy again with a W wind at 3 mph, but the swell is only 2 ft at 14 seconds. It’s clean but small. The afternoons from here on out get progressively windier and messier, with cross-onshore NW winds picking up.

Tuesday the 8th sees the wind swing NNW and the morning is cross-shore with small chop. The swell jumps up to 5 ft Tuesday afternoon, but it’s a short-period 5-second wind swell with a NNW direction and a moderate cross-shore breeze at 16 mph. That’s poor quality – the combined energy is only 254, and the wave comment says "poor surf conditions". That afternoon setup looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing.

From Wednesday the 9th through the end of the first week, it’s mostly cross-shore or cross-onshore winds with small, short-period swell. There’s a little bump of 6 ft on Friday the 11th morning, but it’s a short 8-second NW wind swell with cross-onshore wind and a combined energy of 790 – the wave comment says "poor surf conditions". Not worth it.

The second week starts to look a little more promising but less certain. On the 20th of September, Sunday morning, we get a 6 ft W swell at 10 seconds with light cross-shore winds from the N at 3 mph. Combined energy is strong at 899, and the wave comment is "marginal surf forecast or questionable tide conditions". Still, that’s the best-looking bump in the long range. If that holds, it could be a fun, punchy session, but it’s far out so don’t book your flights yet. The rest of that week is mostly small, onshore slop.

Bottom line: If you’ve only got one session this forecast period, make it Saturday morning the 5th. That’s the standout. Sunday morning the 6th and Monday morning the 7th are backups if you just need to get wet. Everything else is a write-off until maybe the 20th, but we’ll see.

Rusty.

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