The Box Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s take a good hard look at the surf forecast for The Box over the next 16 days. I gotta be straight with you – this outlook is a tough one. We’re looking at a long, blank stretch with barely a ripple on the cards for the most part.

Right from the start, the first week and a half is pretty grim. From Wednesday the 26th of August, through to the end of the month, and well into the first week of September, we’ve got next to nothing. The combined energy levels are pitiful, mostly reading in the single digits (1 to 30). The swell heights are tiny – we’re talking 0.3 ft to 2 ft at best – and with periods mostly under 6 seconds, it’s just wind chop with no shape. Winds are a mixed bag of cross, cross-off, and cross-on, so don’t expect any kind of clean, lined-up wave.

The water at The Box is sitting at 83°F when we start, which is 4°F warmer than average for this time of year – that’s notably warm, so you’ll be in boardshorts for sure, but the lack of surf will keep you out of the water.

There’s a tiny glimmer on Saturday the 29th of August, with a 2 ft to 2 ft swell showing up from the NNE/NE, but with a period of just 3-4 seconds and moderate cross-shore chop, it’s not worth paddling out for. By Sunday the 30th, we get the highest energy reading of this whole dreary period – a combined 30 from a 2 ft NE swell with a 6-second period – but that’s still just poor, crumbly surf. Honestly, if you’re a kite surfer, the moderate cross-shore winds and lack of real swell might make a beach setup more interesting than paddling.

After that, we hit a real dead zone. From Monday the 31st of August all the way through to Wednesday the 9th of September, there are days with literally zero energy (0) and no wave height. There are a couple of glassy mornings, like on Saturday the 5th of September and Sunday the 7th, but with only 0.3 ft to 1.0 ft of swell, it’s flat, smooth, and unrideable. The calm, glassy conditions are a tease – beautiful water, but nothing to surf.

The second week doesn’t offer any hope. A brief spike on Tuesday the 8th of September gives us a 2 ft to 2 ft ESE swell with a 6-second period and a combined energy of 20-29, but it’s plagued by cross-onshore winds in the afternoon. The following morning is glassy again but with no swell at all.

To put it plainly, there are no standout sessions in this 16-day window. The Box is an inconsistent spot that rarely breaks as it is, so this blank run is more normal for the area. Don’t bother dragging your board down. Check back with me in a week or so; forecasts can change, and it tends not to stay this hopeless forever.

Rusty.

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