Rockaway Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s shaping up for Rockaway over the next couple of weeks.

Right off the bat, we’re in a bit of a flat spell. The first few days are a write-off – Sunday the 6th is a no-go with poor surf conditions and a cross-on breeze messing things up. Monday the 7th and Tuesday the 8th offer a tiny bit of hope with glassy mornings, but the swell is weak and the waves are just ordinary. Honestly, not enough to get excited about.

We’ve got a long gap coming up from Wednesday the 9th through to Thursday the 17th. The swell does pick up, but the wind is almost always cross-on or cross-shore, and the wave quality is consistently poor or marginal. The swell is mostly NW, with heights ranging from 1ft to 8ft, but the energy is moderate to strong (combined energy values between 267 and 972). The problem is that the wind just won’t cooperate, and the period is short (8 seconds or less), so the waves are choppy and messy. On Wednesday the 9th, there’s a long period (19 seconds) SW groundswell, but with a cross-on wind, it’s just not happening. This is a stretch for the patient surfer only.

Now, the standout. The best window in the whole outlook is Friday the 18th. The morning session is the pick. We’re looking at a 6ft NW swell with a period of 10 seconds, which is a solid groundswell with good shape. The wind is light and cross-offshore, which will give us clean, lined-up waves. The combined energy is 818 – strong, but not too heavy. This is the morning to be in the water. The afternoon is okay, but the wind shifts cross-shore, so the morning is the clear winner. Saturday the 19th is still rideable, but the wind is cross-shore and the swell drops.

The water at Rockaway is much warmer than normal for this time of year, sitting at 62°F – that’s a big anomaly of 4°F, so you can leave the thick wetsuit at home for the first few days.

Rockaway is a consistent, exposed beach-and-reef spot, and it’s best with a NW swell. The crowds can be a factor sometimes. For the Friday morning session, you’ll want to get out early.

After that, we fade back into small, weak SW swells from the 20th onwards, with cross-shore winds. Nothing to write home about.

So, the call: mark your calendar for Friday the 18th morning. That’s the one.

Rusty.

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