Terra Mar Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s on the cards for Terra Mar over the next couple of weeks. I gotta be straight with you – this is one of those periods where we’re looking at a whole lot of "meh" and not a lot of "yeah!". The swell is going to be small, the wind is often a bit of a problem, and the water is weirdly warm.

Right now, through the rest of September and into early October, the pattern is pretty grim for quality surf. There’s a long gap of nothing worth paddling out for. The first real suggestion of a session doesn’t show up until Friday the 18th, and even then it’s a marginal call. That’s a full four-day stretch from today with no genuine green lights.

Let’s talk about what’s happening out there. The water temp is sitting at a very unusual 74°, which is a whopping 6° warmer than it should be for this time of year. That’s a proper anomaly, makes the ocean feel like bathwater.

Now, the only break we’ve got on the radar is Terra Mar. It’s a point break, exposed to the WSW swell, which is what’s lining up. The swell direction hitting the beach is mostly from the SW to SSW, with heights barely cracking 3 ft to 3 ft on the best days. The period is super long – we’re talking 16 to 20 seconds for most of the stronger pulses. That’s proper groundswell, but with a caveat: it’s a long period which can sometimes make a point break behave a little fat, though it should have some push and shape.

The one period that looks slightly less hopeless is from the morning of Friday, 18th September through to the afternoon of Monday, 21st September. During that window, the swell holds around 3 ft to 3 ft from the SW, with period around 17-18 seconds. The combined energy climbs a bit too, into the 500s (504 on Saturday morning, 676 on Sunday afternoon), so it’s got moderate energy. The issue is the wind. For most of those windows, it’s onshore or cross-onshore. There are a few morning slots with light onshore breezes from the SW, but nothing that qualifies as clean offshore.

Because the swell is so small and the wind is generally a pain, and it’s a point break that needs the right conditions, the standout – if you can even call it that – would be Sunday morning, 20th September at Terra Mar. You’ve got 3 ft of SW swell with an 18-second period, light onshore wind (the best of a bad bunch), and combined energy at 585. That’s about as good as it gets in this dry spell. It’s still only marginal and the wind isn’t glassy, but it’s the pick of a very average lot.

For the rest of the week after that, the swell drops back down in height and period, the energy fades, and the wind stays messy. Nothing else stands out. Honestly, if you have a kite, you might get more fun out of the choppy conditions than a surfboard.

Signing off,
Rusty

Read more