Rye Ocean Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let’s take a look at what’s cookin’ for Rye Ocean Beach over the next couple of weeks.

Right off the bat, I gotta be straight with you: the next week and a half is a write-off for decent waves, mainly because of shocking winds and the swell just being too messy or too powerful for this set-up. It’s a beach and reef break, so when the wind’s wrong, it turns into a washing machine.

The first real chance of something clean doesn’t roll around until the morning of Friday, 18 September. That morning, we get a SSW swell of 6ft, period at a juicy 14 seconds, and the wind is a light NNW 16 mph, blowing cross-offshore. It’s not massive, but the energy is moderate (1969) and the surface will be clean. We’re looking at marginal conditions, but it’s the best we’ve seen for a while. The water temp feels about average for the time of year.

Things improve a touch on the morning of Saturday, 19 September with a similar SSW 6ft at 13 seconds, NNW cross-off wind again at 16 mph. It’s still a little marginal, but the energy is moderate (1021). Could be a session for a patient surfer, but it’s not going to go down in the history books.

Now, if you’ve got some experience and don’t mind slightly bigger stuff, you need to look ahead to the Monday, 28 September afternoon session. This is the standout of the whole outlook. You’ve got a solid, long-period SSW groundswell – 6ft at 16 seconds – combined wave energy is strong (1851), and the wind is a clean NE offshore breeze at 12 mph. This will produce excellent, clean surf, but that 6ft height and long period means it’s better suited to more experienced crew. The swell direction (SW) lines up nicely with the optimum for the break. This is the one to circle on the calendar, even though it’s a bit of a wait. Crowds are possible here sometimes, but on that day, with the conditions, it’ll be worth competing for a spot.

The following morning, Tuesday, 29 September, still has some size with a 7ft SSW swell and a 15-second period, but the wind shifts to a moderate WNW cross-shore, so the quality drops back into that marginal/questionable zone. The run of better days looks over after that Monday afternoon.

So, wrap it up: a long, slow start, one brief window of clean-but-not-amazing surf next weekend, then a proper clean, good-energy session on the afternoon of the 28th for those with a bit of experience. The rest of the time, you’re best off checking the forecasts again in a week.

- Rusty

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