Rockaway Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, folks, Rusty here. Let's have a look at what's cookin' for our local stretch.

Right off the bat, I gotta be straight with you – we’re looking at a pretty grim run of surf for the next week and a half. The models are showing nothing but tiny, weak, and messy conditions for most of this period. There are long gaps of nothing worth paddling out for, especially from now through to about the 22nd.

The core issue here is a persistent lack of any decent swell energy. For days on end, the combined energy reads in the weak range, often between 16 and 86. That's tiny, mushy stuff. The winds are mostly onshore or cross-onshore, adding to the frustration.

Let's break down the calendar. Starting Saturday the 12th, we’ve got a tiny 1ft south-east swell, but a 16 mph SSE wind is blowing straight onshore. Not worth a look. Sunday the 13th has a little bump to 3ft from the SSE, but the period is a pathetic 5 seconds – that’s short-period wind slop. The wind is cross-offshore though, so it’s clean, but the waves won't have any push. That same tiny, rubbish swell pattern hangs around through the following week. Tuesday the 15th shows a brief 3ft from the east, but it's cross-onshore and choppy.

We get a tiny moment of glass on Friday morning the 18th, but with a combined energy of only 16 and a 1ft swell, it’s a flat, oily pond. Beautiful to look at, but not a wave to ride.

The only thing that gets a pulse going is way out on Wednesday the 23rd. We finally see some real energy coming in. The morning has a 5ft SE swell running, with a 6-second period and clean conditions thanks to a cross-off N wind. The combined energy jumps to 194 (moderate). By the afternoon, it looks even bigger with a 6ft SE swell and a jump in combined energy to 558 (strong). This is the one to keep an eye on. Now, the wind goes light and cross-shore that afternoon, which might leave it a little bumpy but it's the biggest push we've seen in two weeks. Be warned though, at 6ft and considering Rockaway is an exposed beach break, this gets more interesting for the experienced crew. The swell direction from the SE is a decent angle for the beach.

After that, the energy drops back off into the weak range for the final few days, though we get some nice glassy offshore mornings on Saturday the 26th with clean, gentle 3ft waves from the east. It’s small but clean after that big pulse.

So, to sum it up: don't get your hopes up for the next 10 days. Save your energy for that swell arriving Wednesday the 23rd and Thursday the 24th. That's your best and only real chance for a wave with some grunt. It might be a bit jumbled with the long period of onshores before it, but it's the stand-out window by a country mile.

Stay patient, boys.

- Rusty

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