Rockpiles Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here, let’s get into it.

First off, the swell direction coming in is not lining up well with what Rockpiles likes best. It’s a top-tier reef break that’s at its best with a clean SSE swell, but what we’ve got coming is mostly ENE and S to SSW. That mismatch, plus a lot of cross-off wind, has put the kibosh on quality surf for most of this outlook. The water temp here is sitting at about 81°F, which is about 1°F off the long-term average, so pretty normal for this time of year.

The next few days are tough. Wednesday the 12th and Thursday the 13th have some knee-to-waist high S swell with very long periods (16 to 18 seconds) and moderate wave energy (911 to 840), but that wind is a fresh cross-off at 22 mph out of the ENE. It’s not clean enough to be worth paddling out for. We go through the rest of the week into the weekend with building swell, but it’s short-period (8 to 9 seconds) ENE windswell, and the wind cranks up to strong breeze and near gale-force. By Saturday the 15th, we are talking 12ft to 13ft of messy, wind-affected junk – that’s far too big and blown out, strictly for experts or kitesurfers. There is a hit of very high combined energy (2563) on Saturday afternoon, but the quality is just not there for a paddle surfer.

Monday the 17th to Tuesday the 18th still has cross-off wind and the swell drops back to small, poor-quality stuff. It stays pretty grim through the following week, with a lot of sub-3ft SW and SSW groundswells, but that persistent ENE breeze never gives us the glassy, offshore wind we need.

The best of a bad bunch lands around Monday the 25th of August. On the 25th morning, we see a S/SSW groundswell at 4ft with a long period of 16 seconds, moderate energy at 779, and the wind is a still a cross-off at 19 mph. It’s marginal, but that long period groundswell *could* offer some shape if the tide lines up at this reef. It’s the only day that feels like it has a pulse. The following days up to the 27th keep the same pattern – small, marginal, and cross-off. It’s a lean run. There are no real standouts. The second week is a lot of the same, low-quality stuff.

Overall, this is a poor stretch for surf at Rockpiles. The windows are narrow and never quite come together with clean conditions. The long run of poor quality through the end of August suggests the area is in a bit of a lull, but these forecasts can change.

Rusty.

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