Rockaway Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let's take a good, hard look at what's on the table for the Rockaway stretch over the next couple of weeks. I gotta be straight with you – it’s gonna be a long, dry spell before anything worth paddling out for shows up.

The rockaway is a consistent spot, but for the next week and a half, the conditions are just ugly. From Tuesday the 25th of August all the way through to the 4th of September, it’s a write-off. The wind is mostly a cross-onshore mess and the wave quality is poor. You’ll see some swell, sure, like a 7ft NW on the 30th, but with a period of just 8 seconds and cross-onshore winds, it’ll be chopped-out slop. That 8ft WNW on the 7th of September is real, but it’s still messy with cross-shore winds and a marginal tide call. It’s a kitesurfing breeze, not a paddler’s dream.

Now, let's talk about a couple of days that actually catch the eye. The real bright spot is Wednesday morning on the 9th of September. We’ve got glassy conditions – dead calm, a light WSW breeze, clean as a whistle. The swell is a long-period 19-second groundswell from the SW, coming in at 3ft. That’s the kind of energy that finds the banks and wraps around the jetties. The combined energy is moderate at 791, but a clean 3ft on a long-period groundswell with glassy conditions is a true standout. For a mellow session on the longboard or a fun fish, that’s the pick.

Also keep an eye on Tuesday morning the 8th of September. A clean 6ft NW groundswell (period 10 seconds) with a light cross-offshore breeze. That’s a clean-looking 6ft with moderate energy (910), and while it’s a bit bigger, for the experienced crew it’s a solid session. Winds will be light, so expect clean walls.

Honestly, for the rest of the run, it’s a waiting game. The conditions are punishing until we hit that window on the 8th and 9th. The water temp is about 64°, but that anomaly of 5° is very unusual – it’s much warmer than normal for this time of year, so you can ditch the thickest rubber.

That’s the lay of the land. Hang tight, the glassy morning on the 9th is worth the wait.

Rusty.

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