The Cove Cape May Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, folks, Rusty here with the straight talk on The Cove Cape May for the next couple weeks. I’m gonna level with you: it’s a whole lot of nothing with one tiny, sweet window right at the bitter end.

From this Saturday, August 22nd, all the way through the end of the month, we’re looking at a total drought. The surf is flat – swell heights from 0.7ft to 2ft – with short-period, choppy junk. The wind is mostly cross or onshore, making a mess of the water. The combined wave energy readings are in the single digits to the low 90s (like 22 to 87), which is just weak, weak stuff. There’s a clean moment on the morning of Saturday the 29th with a 2ft swell and a gentle offshore breeze, but the period is only 7 seconds, so it’s a windswell bump, not real groundswell. Not worth the drive.

Then we hit the first week of September. The water’s a touch warmer than normal at 77°F, which is comfortable, but don’t get excited. Tuesday, September 1st, brings a jump to 5ft from the ESE with energy up to 249, but it’s messy and onshore. The afternoon has a bigger 4ft, long-period swell (14 seconds) with strong energy at 608, but again, onshore winds ruin any chance of clean waves. Wednesday the 2nd keeps a 4ft SE swell (energy 458), and Wednesday afternoon gets a “marginal” call with a light cross-onshore breeze and a 4ft SSE swell. The period is 11 seconds, which is proper groundswell, so the shape could be okay, but the wind is just slightly off. It’s rideable, but not pretty.

The absolute bright spot is Thursday, September 3rd. That’s the day. The morning shows a clean 1ft SE swell with a 10-second period, and the wind is a light cross-offshore from the NNW. The energy is low at 79, so it’s small, but it’s clean and rideable. Thursday afternoon is the real winner: the wind goes glassy – dead calm, no ripples – with a 1ft SE swell and a 9-second period. The energy is a weak 61, so don’t expect power, but for a smooth, tiny wave session on a longboard, that’s as good as it gets. It’s a 1 out of 10 on the scale, but with glassy conditions, you can have a fun, mellow session.

After that, it drops back to flat. Friday the 4th through Sunday the 6th of September sees the swell shrink to 0.7ft-1ft, and while some periods are clean, the energy is gone (8 to 52). Not a ripple worth paddling for.

So, here’s the deal: a long, boring flat spell until Wednesday the 2nd of September, which is just marginal. The one true standout is Thursday the 3rd of September at The Cove Cape May. It’s a point break that’s fairly consistent, and with the glassy afternoon wind, it’ll be smooth little peelers. The crowds can be ‘often’ there, so expect a few other folks with the same idea. The swell is from the SE, which is right in the sweet spot for the spot. It’s tiny, but for a clean, small-wave session, you can’t beat it. Everything else is a hard pass.

Rusty, out.

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