Otter Rock Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here, looking at the next couple of weeks for Otter Rock, and I gotta be straight with you—it’s a rough stretch. This is a point break that will deliver some swell, but the wind is almost always working against us, keeping things messy. The water is also absolutely freezing, coming in at 51°F, which is a whopping 7°F colder than normal for this time of year. That’s a serious anomaly, so you’ll want the thickest wetsuit you’ve got.

We kick off on Thursday the 16th of July with a 2-foot swell from the WNW, but the period is a super long 18 seconds, which is classic groundswell stuff. Combined energy is 476 (moderate), but the wind is a light westerly onshore, and the surf is poor. Not a great start.

Friday the 17th, the swell picks up to 3 feet, still WNW, with a 17-second period. The energy is moderate (576), but the wind is cross-onshore from the NW, and the surf is marginal at best. The morning is a bit better than the afternoon as the wind picks up, but nothing worth paddling out for.

Saturday the 18th, we see a jump to 5 feet from the NW in the morning, and 5 feet in the afternoon. The period drops to 10 seconds and then 9 seconds, so it’s a weaker, shorter-period windswell. The energy climbs to 812 and 952 (moderate), but the wind is a moderate cross-onshore, making it choppy and poor. This is not the day for a point break.

Sunday the 19th through Tuesday the 22nd, the swell stays around 4 to 6 feet, mostly from the NW with that short 8-second period. The wind is a constant cross-onshore, with a few periods of cross-shore. The combined energy is still moderate, but the waves are poor or marginal. The setup starts to look more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing, especially with the moderate to fresh winds.

A slight repost on Wednesday the 22nd afternoon, with a 2-foot swell from the SW and a longer 14-second period, but the wind is onshore and the energy is low (365).

The rest of the week and into the second week, from the 23rd of July onward, we see a drop in swell size, mostly 1 to 3 feet, with periods swinging from 8 seconds to a very long 26 seconds. The longer-period swells (like the 26-second on the 24th and 22-second on the 25th) are prone to breaking too straight at this point break, and the wind is always cross-onshore, keeping the surf poor or marginal.

Thursday the 30th of July, we have a 3-foot swell from the SW (16-second period), but the wind is a fresh cross-shore, making it lumpy. The combined energy is moderate (684), but the conditions are only marginal.

Friday the 31st of July, the swell picks up to 5 feet from the NW, but with a pathetic 7-second period, it’s just a messy, choppy windswell. The wind is cross-onshore, and the surf is poor.

So, what’s the best on offer? Honestly, there’s no standout. The most promising window is the morning of Friday the 17th, with a 3-foot WNW swell and a very long 17-second period, giving it some shape. The light cross-onshore wind is the least offensive, but it’s still not clean. If you’re desperate, that’s your best bet. The point break is a consistent spot, but when the wind is this bad, it doesn’t matter. We’ve got a long gap of poor conditions, and it’s a tough run. Keep an eye on the forecasts, because it tends not to stay this poor for long.

Rusty.

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