Point Arena Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, let’s get into it. Rusty here, and I’m looking at the haul from Point Arena over the next couple of weeks. Grab a coffee, because there’s a lot of waitin’ to do before the real fun shows up.

Right now, the water temp is sittin’ at 59°, which is pretty much bang-on average for this time of year. No surprises there.

Lookin’ at the whole 16-day picture, it’s a frustrating stretch to start. Most of the first week and a half is a write-off. We’ve got a long, quiet gap with nothing really worth paddlin’ out for. The combo of onshore, cross-shore, and just strong winds with small junky swell makes for poor conditions day after day. There’s a bit of a tease on Tuesday the 8th – surfable but ordinary, that’s a 4ft NW windswell with a short 7-second period. The wind is light and clean in the afternoon, but the waves just don’t have any push or shape. Not gettin’ wet for that.

Wednesday the 9th afternoon throws a curveball – a 3ft swell from the SW but with a very long 19-second period. The energy reading is a solid 563, which indicates moderate wave energy, but the height is tiny. It’s a long-period groundswell, which can wrap into point breaks like Point Arena nicely, but it’s just too small to be fun. A marginal call at best.

From Thursday the 10th through the following Wednesday the 16th, it’s a mix of onshore breezes, moderate to fresh cross-off winds, and mostly poor surf. The swell sizes bump up around Friday the 11th and Saturday the 12th, with chest-to-head-high waves around 7ft to 7ft from the NW, but the period is short (7-8 seconds) and the wind is cranking – 16 to 22 mph. That’s blown-out, choppy, and messy. The energy numbers are in the moderate to strong range (558 to 1048), but it’s windswell, not groundswell, so it’s gonna be bumpy and hard to surf well. The setup would be more interesting for kite-surfing than paddle-surfing given those conditions.

The real standout – and I mean the *only* standout – starts to show up on the second weekend of the forecast. We’re talkin’ about from Sunday the 20th through Monday the 21st. Point Arena is a reef break that holds NW swell, and that’s exactly what’s coming. On Sunday the 20th, we see building swell: morning waves of 8ft from the NW at 8 seconds, ramping up to 10ft from the NW in the afternoon. The energy jumps from 1351 (strong) to 1823 (very strong). That is a big, powerful swell for this spot. Now, the wind is cross-off in the morning (NNW 16 mph) and cross-off in the afternoon, which is good – it’ll keep the faces clean, even if there’s some texture. This is expert-level territory – over 8ft and powerful. If you’re not a rock-solid surfer, stay on the sand. For those who are, the NW swell direction lines up perfectly with this break’s optimum. It’s gonna be a freight train.

Monday the 21st keeps the goods coming: 7ft NW in the morning (period 8s, energy 1376) and then 8ft NW in the afternoon with a longer 12-second period and a massive energy of 1857. That longer period means the waves will have more shape and power, but at a reef like Point Arena, it should handle it. The wind stays cross-off from the NNW at 16 mph. It’ll still be sizey and for experts, but the quality will be there.

The crowds at Point Arena are listed as “often,” so expect company if it’s good. It’s a very consistent spot, so it’ll be breaking, no doubts there.

Everything else in the last few days of the forecast – like Tuesday the 22nd – is a letdown, with onshore winds and dropping swell. Forget about it.

So, the simple truth: the first week and a half are almost entirely poor. Do something else. But mark your calendar for Sunday the 20th and Monday the 21st of September – that’s your window. Big, powerful NW groundswell, clean-ish wind, and a reef setup that knows how to handle it. That’s the one.

Rusty.

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