Rincon - Rivermouth Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let’s talk about what we’ve got on the cards for our local stretch.

Right, straight up, the pattern for the next couple of weeks is pretty mellow. We’re looking at a long run of small, mostly ordinary waves, with a few moments that clean up enough to be worth a paddle. The standout window is looking like Thursday, September 3rd, into the weekend after that. Don’t get too excited about size – this is a Rivermouth style setup, so we’re working with what we’ve got.

Let’s start from the beginning. The first surf worth mentioning is Monday afternoon, August 31st. It’s small, around 1ft, coming from the SSW with a period of 13 seconds. The wind is a light cross-offshore, so it’ll be clean, but the energy is weak (88). It’s surfable, but very ordinary. Tuesday and Wednesday are much the same – tiny waist-to-knee high stuff, clean afternoons but nothing to write home about. The water temp is sitting at a very warm 71°, which is much warmer than usual for this time of year, so you can leave the wetsuit at home.

Now, here’s where it perks up. Thursday afternoon, September 3rd. The swell bumps up just a touch to 2ft from the SSW, but the period stretches to 18 seconds. That’s a proper long-period groundswell, and the energy ramps up to moderate (249). The wind is a light cross-offshore, so expect really clean, fun conditions. This is the best we’re going to see in this run. Friday the 4th and Saturday the 5th keep that consistency with similar 2ft to 3ft SSW swell and clean afternoon windows. The energy stays moderate (264 to 310), and the cross-offshore breeze holds. This stretch from Thursday through Saturday afternoon is your window.

A word of caution: Rincon - Rivermouth is a point break, and with that long 17-18 second period, the sets will be longer between waves, but the shape should be good. It’s exposed to the WNW swell direction, but the forecast is mostly SSW, so it’s a bit of a different angle. Still, when it’s clean and small like this, it’s a fun one for intermediates. Just a heads up, crowds are often a thing here, so don’t expect to have it to yourself.

Sunday the 6th is still clean with a light cross-off, but the size drops back to 2ft and the energy fades. After that, we hit a real flat spot. From Monday the 7th all the way through to the end of the forecast on the 15th of September, it’s mostly poor to ordinary. Waves hover around 1ft to 2ft, energy drops into the double digits and low hundreds, and the wind turns more cross or cross-on at times. A few clean afternoons pop up, but the size is just too small to be exciting. The 10th of September has a brief pulse of 2ft with moderate energy (294) in the morning, but the conditions are marginal. The afternoon cleans up, but it’s nothing special.

So to sum it up: the best call is Thursday September 3rd through Saturday September 5th, aiming for the afternoons when the light offshore or cross-offshore wind cleans up those 2ft to 3ft groundswells. After that, it’s a paddling snooze-fest for over a week. It’s the kind of run that won’t last forever, but for now, pick your moments.

Rusty.

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