The Cove Cape May Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, folks, Rusty here. Let’s talk about what’s on offer for The Cove Cape May. Gotta be straight with you—this stretch of the forecast is a tough one for us paddle surfers. There’s a real gap at the start here with no surf worth chasing.

We’re looking at a long, dry spell. From Thursday, the 23rd of July, all the way through to the morning of Wednesday, the 29th of July, it's just not happening. The swell is tiny, the wind is messy, and the energy is weak. The only thing that’s notably different is the water temperature, which is sitting at 76°F at the start—a touch warmer than normal for this time of year, but that’s cold comfort when there’s no waves.

The first sign of life doesn’t pop up until the morning of Thursday, the 30th of July. Even then, it’s a quiet one. The Cove is showing a 2ft SSE swell on a 9-second period, with a light NNW cross-offshore breeze keeping things clean. The combined energy is weak at 73. It’s surfable, but very ordinary. It’s a point break that’s fairly consistent and fairly exposed to the swell, but with this little size, it’s gonna be a bit of a grovel. Crowds are often here, so don’t expect to have it to yourself.

Moving into the morning of Saturday, the 1st of August, we get a tiny window. A 3ft S swell with a short 5-second period, but the wind flips to a clean offshore from the NE. The combined energy is still weak at 73. It’s surfable, but again, very ordinary. The short period means the waves won’t have much push.

The next interesting moment is the morning of Monday, the 3rd of August. We finally see a little jump in energy. The swell is 3ft from the SSE with a 9-second period, and the wind is a light cross-off from the E. The combined energy climbs to 136 (moderate), which is the best we’ve seen in a while. It’s still just surfable and very ordinary, but at least there’s a bit more life in the water.

Then on the morning of Tuesday, the 4th of August, we get a brief moment of calm. The swell is tiny at 2ft from the ESE, but the wind is dead calm—glassy conditions. That’s a rare treat, but the lack of size means it’s still just a surfable session, not a standout.

Honestly, I can’t point to a single standout in this whole 16-day window. The energy is just too weak, and the swell never gets above 4ft. Even the moderate energy on the 3rd of August is hampered by an onshore wind later in the day. The water temperature anomaly is a touch warmer than normal, but that’s about it for good news. For the most part, the setup here looks more interesting for a kite surfer than a paddle surfer, given the light winds and small, choppy conditions.

It’s a rough run for Cape May. The breaks are fairly consistent here, but the ocean just isn’t playing ball. Hang in there, forecasts change.

Rusty.

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