Sandy Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, let’s get into it for Sandy Beach. Over the next couple weeks, it’s a rough stretch. Water temp is about average for the season at 79°, nothing unusual there. But the surf… it’s mostly a mess.

The whole period is hammered by a strong, steady cross-shore wind from the ENE, blowing 19 to 25 mph. That keeps the surface lumpy and choppy, and the surf quality is just poor. Most days we’re looking at short-period, weak ENE windswell around 5 ft to 7 ft, but it’s all cross-chop and no shape. Even when the odd pulse of longer-period SSW groundswell tries to sneak in around the 15th and 16th, with periods of 14 to 17 seconds, the wind is still cross or cross-on, ruining any chance of clean waves. The combined wave energy fluctuates but mostly sits in that moderate range.

Friday the 10th through Sunday the 12th – it’s just ugly. Swell around 6 ft to 7 ft from the ENE, but with that 25 mph cross-wind, it’s messy cross-chop. Honestly, this setup looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing.

From Monday the 13th to Wednesday the 15th, the wind drops a notch to 16-22 mph, but it’s still cross-shore. Swell drops to 5 ft to 6 ft ENE, with weak energy. Still poor conditions.

Thursday the 16th brings a change – a long-period SSW groundswell sneaks in, 2 ft at 16-17 seconds. But the wind is still cross or cross-on at 19-22 mph, so it’s lumpy. For a beach and reef break like Sandy Beach, that long period groundswell can be too straight, but with no clean wind, it’s a write-off.

Friday the 17th through Monday the 20th, the ENE windswell kicks back up to 5 ft to 7 ft, but the wind stays strong (22-25 mph) and cross-shore. More lumpy, poor surf. The crowd factor at Sandy Beach is “often” – but with conditions this bad, it won’t be an issue.

The tail end, from Tuesday the 22nd to Saturday the 25th, the swell drops to 2 ft to 5 ft, with the same cross-wind. There’s a fleeting pulse of long-period S and SSW swell on the 24th and 25th (2 ft to 2 ft, 16-20 seconds), but again, the wind is cross or cross-on, so it stays messy.

Plain and simple – there are no good surf options in this 16-day window. Nothing is breaking clean. Sandy Beach is fairly consistent, but with this constant cross-wind and short-period chop, it’s a blank run. It tends not to stay poor for long in this area, so keep an eye on the forecasts, but for now, leave the boards in the car.

Rusty

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