72nd Place Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s get straight into it for this stretch. We’re looking at one spot, and I gotta be honest with you – it’s a tough run.

For the next couple of weeks, the pattern is dominated by a consistent but very small, onshore swell that never really finds its groove. The water’s sitting at a balmy 72°, which is a full 5° warmer than normal – that’s very unusual for this time of year, so at least you won’t be cold while you’re staring at flat lines.

The first solid recommendation doesn’t appear until way down the line. From now, we’re looking at a long gap of almost two weeks with basically nothing worth paddling out for. The swell is tiny – mostly 1 ft to 2 ft – and the wind is either blowing straight onshore or cross-onshore from the SW, keeping things messy and weak. The combined swell energy barely gets into the triple digits on most days, so it’s a real struggle for any wave to form.

The only flicker of something happens much later, but it’s still not great. On the morning of August 17th (Monday), the swell bumps up a touch to 2 ft from the SSW with a 15-second period. The wind is light cross-onshore, and the energy jumps to 312. Not terrible, but still a poor outlook overall. That afternoon the wind swings more onshore and picks up, and the swell jumps to 4 ft from the west, but the period drops to a short 7 seconds, so it’s just wind-chop.

Even the bigger numbers later in the run – like the morning of August 15th (Saturday) with 3 ft SSW swell and 460 energy – come with cross-onshore winds. The crowd situation at 72nd Place can be an issue too, as it’s listed as "sometimes" busy.

Honestly, for the entire 16-day window, nothing here hits the mark. If you’re desperate, keep an eye on that morning of the 17th for the best chance at a few knee-high runners, but manage your expectations. It’s a bleak stretch for paddle surfing – that stronger onshore wind and short period on the 17th afternoon makes it look more interesting for kite surfing than a regular stick.

Keep the head up, forecasts can change.

Rusty.

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