Shipwrecks Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let’s talk about Shipwrecks.

Look, I’m not gonna sugarcoat it – the next couple of weeks are a tough watch. We’ve got a long, drawn-out stretch of small, messy swell and a lot of onshore or cross-shore wind. The water is much warmer than usual for this time of year, sitting at 87°F, which is a real treat if you’re just floating around, but for surfing? It’s a grind.

The first real day that gets my blood going is not until Thursday, August 14th. The afternoon that day is a proper standout. The wind goes completely glassy, dead calm out of the northwest, and we’ll see a clean 3 ft swell from the SSW. That’s a long-period groundswell, coming in at 17 seconds, so there’s real energy here – the combined energy is a solid 705 (moderate to strong). The direction is exactly what this reef and point needs. It’s going to be clean, a little more powerful than it looks, and the setup will be rewarding for an intermediate surfer. The rip won’t be too bad with those long gaps between sets. This is the one to circle.

Before that, it’s pretty grim. From Thursday, August 6th, right through the morning of the 14th, we’re scraping by with knee to waist-high slop, mostly in the 1 ft to 3 ft range, with a lot of cross-onshore wind. The combined energy is weak to moderate (229 to 538). The wind is from the SSE, S, or SW a lot, which is cross-on or onshore here, making things choppy. There’s a brief moment on Friday morning, August 7th, with a clean onshore flow, but the swell is still small and the score is low. Not worth rushing out for.

After that Thursday afternoon glass-off, the swell hangs around for Saturday morning, August 15th, at 3 ft, but the wind swings back to a cross-onshore S breeze, so it’ll be bumpy. The rest of the second week drops off fast. From August 15th through the 21st, we’re looking at 2 ft to 3 ft weak swell, mostly cross-on or onshore, with combined energy dropping from 587 down to 166. The periods are still decent (14-16 seconds), but with those tiny heights and poor wind, it’s just not doing anything.

If you’re a kite surfer, the conditions on August 11th with a 16 mph SW cross-shore and 2 ft swell might be more interesting than paddling out. But for a surfer? You’re waiting for that Thursday, August 14th afternoon window. That’s the one.

Rusty.

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