Otter Rock Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let's have a look at what's on the table for the next stretch.

Honestly, this is a pretty quiet run overall. There's no big, screaming stand-out in the 16-day window. It's a stretch where you'll have to work for whatever you get, and conditions are often less than ideal. There's a gap at the start because there's no real surf to write home about right now.

The only break with any recommendations at all is Otter Rock. Now, Otter Rock is a point break, so it's got that going for it – it can handle a bit more size and direction than a beachie, and the optimum swell is from the west, so we're close. It's beginner-friendly, which is a positive if you're learning, and it's fairly consistent, but it can get crowded often.

The water temperature is sitting at 51°F, which is a massive 8°F colder than average for this time of year. That's very unusual and seriously cold. You'll want a thick wetsuit, no question.

The first suggestion doesn't come around until Thursday the 23rd of July. The swell is small, around 4ft from the northwest with a 9-second period. The combined energy is moderate at 405, but it's a cross-on breeze, making for a light chop. The call is marginal at best. That theme continues through Wednesday the 29th of July. We see little bumps of swell in the 2ft to 4ft range, mostly from the southwest, but the wind is almost constantly cross-on or onshore. The one little glimmer is some very light offshore winds on Friday the 24th, Saturday the 26th, and Tuesday the 28th – that would keep the surface clean, but the swell is still tiny and the period is all over the place. On Friday the 24th afternoon, there's a 2ft swell but with a very long 24-second period – that's a groundswell, which is slow and fat and better for a point, but it's just not got the height to do much. The energy reading jumps to 537, which is moderate, but the size is the limiting factor.

From Saturday the 25th through Wednesday the 29th, the combined swell energy varies between 334 and 918, which is moderate to on the higher side of moderate, but the swell heights stay under 3ft. The wind is often light, but the direction is wrong, so the quality is never there. It's a long stretch of "marginal" or "poor" conditions.

Now, after the 29th of July, things get worse. From Thursday the 30th of July through to Thursday the 6th of August, the forecast is almost entirely "poor surf conditions". The swell does build a bit – we see a 6ft swell from the northwest on the 4th of August morning, and 6ft on the 6th of August afternoon. The period is short, around 5-9 seconds, which is windswell and not very juicy. The wind is cross-on or cross-shore from the northwest or north-northwest, creating chop. While a 6ft swell is surfable, the wind and short period make it a messy affair. It's not a beginner wave at that size either.

The best bet in this entire window is probably the morning of Friday the 24th of July. You've got a light offshore wind from the WSW, a clean sky, and a 4ft swell from the northwest. It's small, and the period is average at 9 seconds, but the offshore wind will make it the cleanest wave you'll see in this period. The combined energy is moderate at 334. It's not a standout day, it's just the least bad. After that, the morning of Sunday the 26th of July also offers a light offshore wind (WSW) and a 3ft swell from the southwest with a very long 20-second period. That groundswell will mean long, slow lines, but it's clean. That could be a nice, mellow session for a beginner or longboarder.

For the second week, from around the 1st of August onward, it's a write-off. The swell is predominantly short-period windswell from the northwest and north-northwest, with constant onshore or cross-shore wind. The energy drops significantly too, going from 411 down to 170 by the 7th. It's a blank run that goes for over a week. There's nothing to get excited about.

So, in short: we have a long, flat start, a small window of clean but tiny surf around the 24th to 28th of July, and then a long, poor-quality stretch. The setup at Otter Rock, with a beach and point mix, could be interesting for a kite surfer when the wind is strong and the swell is messy, but for a paddle surfer, it's a tough period.

Rusty.

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