The Cove Cape May Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let's be straight with you. The next couple of weeks are looking pretty flat and grim for The Cove Cape May. We’ve got a long stretch of small, jumbled-up waves and onshore winds ahead. You're gonna want to keep your board in the car for a while, but there might be a tiny window of hope way down the line.

The first week is basically a write-off. We're looking at tiny, short-period slop from the 9th through the 13th. The swell energy is weak, with readings in the low tens and forties (like 17, 20, 47), and the wind is mostly onshore or cross, making it messy. It’s the kind of stuff that’ll have you checking your phone more than the ocean. Thursday the 10th has a slight bump in energy (146), but it’s still crossed-up and poor. It’s just not worth the paddle.

There’s a bit of a lull, and then we see some glassy conditions early next week on the 14th and 15th. Monday the 14th has that nice morning glass, but the swell is tiny at around 1ft. It’s clean, but there’s nothing to ride. The energy stays weak (24, 30). It's a good day for a swim, not a surf.

Then we get another run of small, onshore dribble from the 16th through the 20th. The period is short, so it’s just not going to have any push. The energy is consistently weak, barely cracking 50. It’s another flat spell with no real recommendation.

Now, as we head into the third week, things start to get more interesting. On Monday the 21st, we see a bump in energy, jumping up to that moderate range (195). We’re looking at 4ft of east-northeast swell with a 7-second period. It’s still a bit short period, but there’s some push. The morning is cross-on and messy, but the afternoon winds turn cross-off from the NNW at 19 mph, cleaning it up. It might be a bit of a war zone but it's the first sign of real surf.

But the standout, and I mean the only real standout in this whole forecast, is Tuesday the 22nd. The energy jumps to a moderate 116, and we get 3ft of east swell with an 8-second period. The wind is offshore from the NNE at 16 mph. This is the one. The guidance says surfable, and the conditions should be clean with that offshore wind. It won’t be pumping, but it’ll be the most rideable it's been. This is your window.

After that, it looks like things start to fade again, until Thursday the 24th, when the energy really jumps to a strong 291. We're looking at 3ft of southeast swell, but with a very long 13-second period. That's a groundswell. The thing is, at a point break like The Cove, a long-period SE swell could be great, but with 16 mph cross-offshore winds, it could also be a bit tricky. It’s a promising blip, but it’s over a week away, so don't book the time off just yet.

So, plain and simple: the 22nd is your best bet. Tuesday, September 22nd. Get out there if you can. It’s not going to be epic, but it’ll be ten times better than anything else we've got.

Rusty out.

Read more