The Cove Cape May Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, folks, Rusty here. Let’s be straight with you. Looking at the next couple of weeks, the surf scene is pretty flat. We’ve got a long stretch of nothing, then a little bump of energy right at the end that might just get the heart beating again, but it’s going to be a wait.

The first week and a half are a total write-off. From Thursday the 6th through to around Tuesday the 19th of August, we are looking at tiny, weak surf. Swell heights are barely pushing 2ft at best, with periods mostly under 7 seconds. That’s just wind chop and leftover slop, not real waves. The energy in the water is weak too, mostly in the single digits and 30s and 40s in the combined energy brackets. You’d be fighting for a dribble. Water temp at The Cove Cape May is 75°, which is about normal for this time of year, so at least it’s warm enough for a swim.

The wind is mostly cross-onshore, chopping up what little there is. Even the few cleaner windows, like Wednesday morning the 12th, have almost no swell to offer. Honestly, for a point break, this is as dead as I’ve seen it. If you’re a kite surfer, you might get a session in with that cross-off wind over the weekend, but for a paddle surfer, there’s nothing.

Now, the one glimmer of hope. The forecast for Thursday the 20th of August shows a bump. The swell height climbs to 4ft in the morning and 4ft in the afternoon. The period is still short, around 5 seconds, so it’s not going to be a thing of beauty, but the combined energy jumps to 69 and then 120. That's moderate wave energy, a real change from the weak stuff. It’s coming from the S, which is not the optimum SE direction for The Cove, but it will put some life back in the water.

However, the wind is cross-on from the WSW, so it won’t be perfect. It’ll be a bumpy, crumbly mess at The Cove Cape May, but there will be something to ride. It’s the only time in the whole 16-day window where you’ll get more than a metre of swell, so if you’re desperate, that’s your window. It’s still a far cry from classic, but it’s better than nothing. The Thursday the 21st looks like it will back off again, with a glassy morning but the swell dropping back to 2ft.

So, the long and short of it is, the next week and a half are a wash. Keep the board in the car, but don’t get your hopes up. The action, if you can call it that, is a distant, second-week promise on the 20th. It's a long-range call, so it's not set in stone, but it's the only one on the board.

Stay patient.

Rusty.

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