Shooting Gallery Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Gotta be straight with you – it’s gonna be a tough stretch for a paddle. The only real option on the cards is Shooting Gallery, a reef setup, but even then, the conditions are going to make you work for anything decent.

The water is sitting at 75°, which is a touch warmer than normal for this time of year, so at least you won't be freezing while you're getting frustrated.

We kick off on Wednesday, August 26th with a tiny 3ft north swell at 8 seconds. The energy is weak (112), and we've got a cross-on breeze. It's a write-off. The whole end of August and into early September is a grim repeat: small, short-period north swells getting chopped up by moderate to fresh cross-onshore winds. The swell tries to push up to 5ft around Friday, August 28th and Saturday, August 29th, with the energy jumping into the moderate range (200 to 929), but the wind is onshore or cross-onshore, making it a lumpy, messy mess. The call is "poor surf conditions" across the board.

You’ll see a bit of a lull from Monday, August 31st through Thursday, September 3rd, with the swell dropping back to 4ft and the breeze still not letting up. It’s not until Friday, September 4th that we finally get a change. The wind swings to a light cross-offshore from the WNW, and the wave comment improves to "surfable waves but very ordinary conditions." The swell is small at 4ft from the north, period at 9 seconds, and the energy is moderate (198). It’s not a classic by any stretch, but it’s the only session in the whole 16 days that might offer a clean-ish wave. Saturday morning, September 5th, also has a clean look with the cross-offshore, but the swell is dropping to 3ft.

After that, it’s back to the same old story. The second week is a real snooze-fest. From Sunday, September 6th through Thursday, September 10th, the swell is tiny, the period is short, and the wind is mostly cross or onshore. The energy drops right off, with some readings under 100 (86, 90). There’s one flicker on Tuesday, September 8th morning with a light cross-offshore and a clean wave face on a 1ft, 10-second swell, but it’s barely worth paddling for.

The only real standout is Friday, September 4th morning. It’s not a bombshell, but it’s the best of a bad lot. The 4ft north swell with a 9-second period and clean cross-offshore wind from the WNW will be the only time you see a decent face at Shooting Gallery. The reef should help shape it up. Just a heads up, the optimum swell direction for this spot is from the NNW, so this north swell is a bit off it, but it’s all we’ve got.

Crowds are listed as "sometimes" here, so you might have a few others with the same idea, but it won't be a zoo.

Signing off, Rusty.

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