Sandy Hook/The Cove Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s talk about your local stretch of sand. Right now, things are flat. Dead flat. It’s one of those stretches where you can leave the boards in the car and just enjoy the beach. There’s simply no surf on offer for the rest of July, and the start of August is looking just as sad. You’re looking at a solid week of nothing before we even see a blip of energy.

The first real sign of anything comes on Monday afternoon, 3rd August. Even then, it’s hardly a call to arms. We get a knee-high, 3ft SSE swell sneaking in, with a period of just 7 seconds. The combined energy is moderate (151), but it’s a messy, short-period windswell. It’s a “poor surf conditions” tag, and I’d be lying if I said it was worth the paddle. The wind is cross-offshore, so it’ll be clean, but the waves will be weak and gutless. Not a beginner’s wave either, just too small and crumbly for anyone.

The rest of that first week and into the second is a ghost town. We get nothing but a few tiny pulses of 1ft to 3ft swell from the SSE and SE, all with terrible, short periods. The wind is mostly cross or cross-off, keeping the surface clean, but the energy is weak (mostly under 100). The one exception is Monday afternoon, 3rd August with that 151 reading, but it’s still a poor wave. It’s small, weak, and inconsistent. The setup is a beach and reef, so with no power, it’s just a washout.

There is a glimmer of something a little more interesting on Friday, 7th August. The morning shows a 1ft SE swell with a period of 10 seconds. That’s a longer period, suggesting a bit more push. The combined energy is 45, still weak, but the wind is a gentle cross-offshore breeze. It’s clean. It’s a long shot, but it’s the best looking morning of the whole run. The water temp is about average for the time of year, nothing weird going on there.

For the second week, the story doesn’t change. From Saturday, 8th August all the way to Saturday, 15th August, it’s a constant stream of tiny, short-period, low-energy swells. The combined energy never gets over 41. The wind is a mixed bag; we get a glassy morning on Sunday, 9th August (3 mph easterly) but the swell is a pathetic 0.7ft. There’s a brief offshore wind on Monday, 10th August afternoon, but again, the swell is 1ft. It’s a true flat spell.

The best of a bad bunch? Honestly, I’d save your energy. The Monday afternoon, 3rd August has the most energy, but the wave quality is poor. The Friday morning, 7th August has the best combination of a longer period and clean conditions. If you’re desperate, you might get a few waist-high sliders at Sandy Hook/The Cove on that Friday morning, but don’t expect much. It’s a fairly consistent break, but it’s not doing anything for us here. For the most part, this is a kite-surfing wind setup if you’re into that, but for paddle surfing, it’s a washout. The crowd can be there sometimes, but honestly, they won’t be.

Stay patient, folks. The ocean will turn again.

Rusty.

Read more