Rincon - The Cove Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here, giving you the straight-up word on the surf.

First up, the overall picture. We’ve got a really quiet run ahead. For the next week and a half, it’s mostly small, weedy lines that just aren’t worth getting too excited about. The energy is really dialed back, and the swell direction is mostly from the SSW, which isn't the ideal 'NNW' direction this spot loves.

The first decent chance to even paddle out looks to be on Sunday the 12th. The swell is tiny at 1.6 ft from the SSW, with a long, 14-second period. The energy is weak, only (140). The breeze swings offshore from the WSW in the afternoon, making things clean, but with that minimal size, it’s really just a knee-high dribble for the dedicated. Before that, it's just wind bumps and cross-shore chop.

The whole first week is pretty much like that – very small surf, mostly 1.6 ft or less, with the wind being a bit of a nuisance. The only real hope is catching those late afternoon offshore windows when the wind switches to WSW. The water temp is about average for the time of year, nothing to write home about.

Moving into the middle of the second week, we finally see a little pulse. On Sunday the 19th, the swell starts to get a bit more juice. The afternoon shows a 1.6 ft swell from the SW, but the period is a very long 17 seconds, and the energy jumps to (290). With a light WSW cross-off wind, it’s going to be clean. This is the standout of the outlook. Rincon - The Cove is a point break, so it’ll handle that long period groundswell nicely, shaping up some peelers.

Then, looking at Thursday the 24th afternoon, there’s a flare-up. A short-period, 6.2 ft swell pulses in from the WNW, with the energy reading a powerful (555). But it’s short period at 7 seconds. That much juice with that period will mean short, dumpy, and pretty unmanageable. This is definitely one for experts only – if it gets good, it’ll be thick, but the crowd factor here at "sometimes" will likely turn to "inevitable" with that much swell. It’s worth noting that on Friday the 24th morning, it’s just 2.9 ft, so that afternoon spike is a sudden and raw offering.

Honestly, the pick of the entire 16 days is that Sunday the 19th afternoon session at *Rincon - The Cove*. Otherwise, it’s a lot of waiting for small, clean windows.

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