Point Arena Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, this is Rusty comin' at ya from the Point Arena area. Let's see what the charts are telling us for the next couple of weeks.

Honestly, we’re in a bit of a flat spell to start. The first real chance of anything worth paddling out for is gonna be this Saturday afternoon, September 12th. That's our kick-off point.

Saturday afternoon (Sept 12) will see some small SW swell pushing in around 3 ft, but it's coming from the wrong direction for Point Arena. They need that NW swell. The wind is a moderate 16 mph from the NNW, so it's cross-offshore, but the wave energy is moderate (526). Water temp is sitting at 57°, which is about 2° cooler than average for this time of year – feels a bit nippy but not crazy unusual.

Sunday morning (Sept 13) sees a slight bump in NW swell to 4 ft, but it's still not great. Winds are cross-offshore from the NNW at 12 mph, and wave energy is weak (198). The call is poor.

The real action, if you can call it that, starts to build Monday (Sept 14). The NW swell gets some legs, hitting 7 ft in the morning and 8 ft by the afternoon. That afternoon size (8 ft) is pushing into expert-only territory, but the period is short at 8 seconds, so it’ll be a bit of a closeout mess at this beach/reef setup. The wind is a stiff 19 mph cross-offshore, so it'll be clean but blown out. Wave energy jumps to strong (1218). Still, the overall forecast quality is marginal.

Tuesday morning (Sept 15) is probably the best of a mediocre bunch early on. We’ve got a 7 ft NW swell, period still short at 8 seconds, but the wind is a light 6 mph from the WNW, giving us a light cross-shore. Wave energy is moderate (753). It’s not perfect, but it’s the cleanest it's gonna be for a while. Afternoon gets more wind.

After that, it’s a lot of same-old. Swell hangs around the 6 ft to 8 ft range through Wednesday and Thursday, but it’s mostly cross-shore winds and short period (8-9 seconds). A couple of days (Sept 17-18) drop off to near nothing. Friday (Sept 18) sees a weird long-period SW groundswell at 19 seconds, but it’s only 2 ft, so just a long wait for tiny waves. That long period would be good for a reef or point, but with that small size, it’s not worth the drive.

The second week has a few pulses. Around September 20-22, we see the swell pick back up to 7 ft-8 ft with moderate wave energy (848-1701), but the winds are mostly cross or cross-offshore, and the period is short (7-8 seconds). The real standout in the whole 16-day window? I'd have to say Tuesday morning, September 15th. It’s not epic, but it’s the best combo of size (7 ft NW) and light wind (6 mph WNW). It’ll be the most surfable.

Later, on September 27th, we get another pulse of swell with a 4 ft NW swell at a very long 14-second period, but the wind is a fresh 19 mph cross-offshore. The energy is strong (1145), but the wind will be an issue. A long-period NW swell at Point Arena could be nice if it cleans up, but the wind is against us that day.

Overall, the forecast is a bit bleak for paddle surfing. Most days have marginal conditions. If you're a kite surfer, the strong cross-offshore winds and 8 ft short-period swell on Monday (Sept 14) might look interesting, but for a surfer, it's a grind. We might get a decent session on Tuesday morning (Sept 15), but don't get your hopes up too high for the rest of it.

Rusty.

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