South Del Mar Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s on offer for the next couple of weeks down at South Del Mar. Gotta be straight with you – it’s a bit of a flat spell to be honest.

The overall pattern is pretty quiet. We’re looking at a long stretch of small waves and mostly marginal conditions, but there’s a tiny window with a bit of decent energy late in the first week. The water temperature is about average for this time of year, nothing wild.

Let’s start from Tuesday the 25th of August. That first day is small, around 2ft to 3ft of swell coming from the SW, but the period is long – 16 seconds on the morning – so there’s some energy in the water (combined energy of 408). Wind is light offshore from the W, so it’ll be clean. Not big, but a longboarder’s playground for a morning paddle. It’s a bit better Tuesday afternoon as the swell picks up to 3ft from the S, period 13 seconds, and the energy climbs to 594.

Wednesday the 26th sees a jump in swell height to 5ft from the S, period dropping to 12 seconds. However, the wind swings to a cross-onshore from the SSW, which will chop it up a bit. The energy is moderate (961). It’s not terrible but not clean.

Thursday the 27th is smaller again – 4ft from the S, period 11 seconds, with light cross-onshore winds. Not a classic. The combined energy drops to 666. By Friday morning the 28th, we’re back to 2ft, but the period goes very long again at 16 seconds. The wind is offshore, so it’ll look glassy but small, with energy of 437. The standout in this whole run is actually Saturday the 29th. The morning sees 3ft from the SSW, period 16 seconds, clean offshore breeze from the WSW, and energy at 690. The afternoon gets even better: 4ft from the SSW, period 16 seconds, still offshore wind. Energy jumps to 907. This is the best on offer – a clean, long-period groundswell with gentle offshore wind. It’ll be lined up nicely on the reef, and the crowd is often here, so expect company. It’s a beginner-friendly break but the long period might make the sets a bit more powerful and spread out.

After that Sunday the 30th holds 4ft with a cross-onshore breeze, and then we drop off significantly. From Monday the 31st through to the end of the forecast, the swell is consistently under 3ft, often below 2ft, with very low energy readings (mostly in the 200-400 range). The wind is mostly offshore or light, so it’ll be clean but flat. There’s a seven-day gap with no real recommendations in that second week.

The only flicker of life comes on Friday the 4th of September, where we see 4ft to 4ft from the SSW, period 17 seconds, offshore wind, and energy of 861. But it’s still marginal and the quality is doubtful. Not a true standout.

So for this stretch, if you’re keen, focus on the 25th for a longboard session, and lock in Saturday the 29th as the pick of the fortnight.

Rusty.

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