Rye Ocean Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s get into it for Rye Ocean Beach.

We’re looking at a bit of a mixed bag for the next couple of weeks. The water’s sitting at 56° which is right about average for this time of year, so nothing wild there. The early part of the week is a write-off with poor conditions and strong onshore winds, so don’t even bother paddling out until we get to Friday.

Friday morning, August 7th, we start to see some life. Swell is 5 ft from the SW with a long 16-second period – that’s proper groundswell. The wind goes glassy by Friday afternoon, and with a combined energy of 1546, that’s a solid moderate pulse. This is your best bet for the near term: clean, lined-up waves, but it’s a bit too big for beginners. For the experienced crew, this is the standout.

Saturday the 8th keeps the swell around 5 ft to 6 ft from the SW, period holding at 16 seconds, but the wind picks up to a fresh 18 mph from the N. It’s cross-off, so the waves will be clean, but it’ll be a bit lumpy. The energy is still strong at over 1400, so there’s power, but the wind will make it tricky.

Sunday the 9th is a no-go – near gale force winds, don’t even think about it.

Then we hit a rough patch. From Monday the 10th through to about Wednesday the 12th, the swell gets big – 12 ft to 15 ft – but the wind is howling from the NW and W, making it a complete mess. The combined energy jumps into the thousands (11,265 on Monday afternoon), which is strong, but it’s just a blown-out, lumpy, cross-chop situation. This is kite-surfing territory, not paddle surfing.

From Thursday the 13th of August through to Tuesday the 18th, the swell stays solid, 8 ft to 12 ft from the SW, with periods between 15 and 18 seconds. The wind finally calms down, with light to moderate breezes and some offshore or cross-off conditions. The issue is, the swell is consistently too big for the break. The numbers are all there – 5,000 to 7,000 combined energy – but it’s just too much for Rye Ocean Beach. Even with clean conditions, 10 ft waves are only for experts. The best window in this stretch is probably Tuesday the 18th afternoon: 6 ft from the SW, 16-second period, 1858 energy, and a light ESE breeze keeping it clean. That’s a solid option for experienced surfers, but it’s still a late call.

After that, the swell drops back to 5 ft to 5 ft by Wednesday the 19th, but the wind is up again and the quality fades.

Overall, the best on offer is Friday afternoon, August 7th – glassy, 5 ft SW groundswell, great energy. Tuesday afternoon, August 18th is a promising long-range option, but don’t book the trip just yet. The rest of the window is either too small, too windy, or too big. Hang in there.

- Rusty

Read more