The Cove Cape May Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here, and I’ve got to tell you, the outlook for The Cove Cape May is about as empty as a beach on a Tuesday in January. I’ve looked at the entire 16-day stretch, from September 9th through the 24th, and there isn’t a single decent surf option in the whole run. It’s a complete flat spell, a solid couple of weeks with nothing worth paddling out for. Yeah, I know, it stinks, but this happens and the models can always change, so let’s not write off the whole season.

Right from the start, Wednesday the 9th, it’s a total bust. We’ve got a pathetic 2ft swell from the SSW with a 4-second period, and the energy is a weak 17. The wind is onshore out of the SW at 12 mph, so everything is chopped and messy. The water temperature is a warm 77°—a solid 6° above normal for this time of year—so at least it feels like a bathtub if you go for a swim, but there are no waves to ride.

The next few days are the same song and dance. Thursday and Friday have tiny, short-period swells, with heights barely scraping 3ft and periods stuck under 7 seconds. There are moments of clean conditions with offshore breezes, like Friday morning’s NNE wind, but there’s absolutely no swell behind it. You’re looking at ankle-biters and a lot of groveling. The report on every single period is "poor surf conditions" with a zero score, and that’s the long and short of it.

The weekend doesn’t offer any hope. Saturday’s cross-onshore wind and Sunday’s risk of thunderstorms are just the cherry on top of a crummy cake. Sunday shows a 3ft swell from the SSE, but it’s got a 5-second period and only 80 in energy, so it’s dumpy and weak, blown out by the wind. It’s not a surf session; it’s an exercise in frustration.

Moving deeper into the second week, from the 16th on, we see the same pattern. We get some glassy spells—the 17th afternoon looks clean, and the 20th afternoon has a light offshore touch—but the swell stays gutless. Heights range from a foot to 3ft at best, periods are mostly under 9 seconds, and the energy readings stay firmly in the weak category. The two biggest energy values we get are 83 and 87, but even those are just moderate pulses of junk, and the wave comment remains a stubborn "poor surf conditions."

When a longer period swell does pop up—a 12-second set on the 19th—it’s only 1ft tall. That’s not rideable; that’s a ripple on a pond. And with a 16 mph onshore wind, it’s just going to be bumpy and ugly. Even on the clean days, like the 22nd morning with a light east cross-off, there’s simply no energy in the water. You can’t make a wave out of nothing.

Honestly, with conditions this flat and wind this persistent, this spot might be a better bet for a kite surfer than a paddle surfer. But for all of us chasing a proper wave, this forecast is a big old zero. The Cove Cape May is usually more reliable than this, so this kind of blank run is a bit of an anomaly. Keep your board ready, keep checking the charts, and don’t blow your energy on a hopeless paddle.

Rusty.

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