Rincon - The Cove Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, this is Rusty, and here’s the look ahead for Rincon - The Cove.

The next couple of weeks are a bit of a mixed bag. We’ve got a long stretch of small, clean-ish afternoons, but nothing that’s gonna have you calling in sick. The real standout, if you can wait, looks to be the final few days.

Right now, the water is sitting at 70°, which is a whopping 7° warmer than usual for this time of year. That’s very unusual, so the water’s gonna feel like bathwater.

Starting off Sunday, August 9th, the morning is a no-go with a tiny 1ft SSW swell and a cross breeze making a mess of things. The afternoon cleans up with a light cross-offshore wind from the WSW, but we’re still only looking at 1ft surf with moderate energy (110). It’s surfable, just very ordinary.

This same pattern repeats day after day. Monday the 10th through to the following Saturday the 16th all follow the same script: small, mostly 1ft to 2ft SSW groundswells with a long period between 14 and 18 seconds. The mornings are junk with light cross or cross-on winds, but the afternoons consistently go clean with light WSW cross-off breezes. The energy stays moderate, climbing to 251 by Saturday afternoon, but the wave heights just aren’t there to get excited about.

There is a slight bump on Thursday the 14th and Saturday the 16th, with afternoon wave heights nudging up to 2ft and 2ft respectively, and the energy getting a bit stronger (up to 225 and 251). Still, for a point break, you’re mostly looking at knee-high lines.

We then hit a bit of a trough from Sunday the 17th through to the 22nd. Sizes drop back to 1ft to 2ft, and the energy dips as low as 115. The afternoons are still clean, but the swell is really struggling. On the 22nd, the swell swings around to the WNW with a short period of 10 seconds, and the morning is cross-on, making it a write-off.

Now, here’s where it gets interesting. The final two days, the 23rd and 24th, show a jump in period. The 23rd brings a long-period 1ft SW groundswell with a 19-second period. The energy is moderate (183), but with that kind of period, those lines will be long, clean, and powerful for their size. The wind is a light cross all day, which isn't ideal for Rincon, but it’s manageable. Then, Monday the 24th, we see the biggest swell of the forecast: 3ft from the W with a short 9-second period. The energy is strong (235). The morning is cross-on, but the afternoon turns cross-off and clean with a WSW breeze. That afternoon on the 24th is the pick of the entire two weeks—biggest swell of the run, clean wind, and a point break like Rincon will line up those short-period W swells beautifully.

This is a patience game. The afternoons are your only window for most of the run, and the waves are small. The real highlight is Monday, August 24th afternoon, when you might actually get something with a little push and clean conditions. That’s the one to circle on the calendar.

Rusty.

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