The Cove Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s cookin’ for The Cove over the next couple of weeks.

Honestly, it’s a pretty bleak stretch for The Cove. The first two weeks are dead flat or near flat, with tiny dribbles of swell and mostly onshore or cross-onshore winds messing up what little there is. For days on end, it’s all “poor surf conditions” – nothing to get excited about. From the 14th of August right through to the morning of the 28th, there’s basically zero surf worth paddling out for. That’s a long, flat gap.

There is one sniff of something better right at the end of the outlook. On the morning of Friday the 28th of August, a decent ESE groundswell starts to show, pushing waist high at 2 ft, with a nice long period of 12 seconds. The wind is light SSW at 3 mph, which is a light cross-offshore breeze, so the waves will be clean. The combined energy jumps up to 155 (moderate). It’s a glimmer of hope, but it’s far out and the conditions are described as “surfable but very ordinary.”

Then again on Saturday the 29th of August morning, we see another pulse, this time 2.5 ft from ENE at the same 12-second period. Wind is light WSW at 3 mph, again cross-off and clean. Energy is strong at 227. This is the better of the two standouts, with a cleaner, more lined-up swell direction, but with only surfable-ordinary conditions, it’s not going to be pumping.

So, the standout pick for this whole 16-day forecast is The Cove on the morning of Saturday the 29th of August. The swell direction (ENE) suits the break’s optimal NNE direction better than Friday’s ESE swell, and you’ll have clean conditions with that light offshore wind. Waves will be waist to maybe chest high (2.5 ft), with good energy for the break (227). It’s a long way out, so keep an eye on it, but that’s the one to pencil in. Because the break is a beach-and-reef setup, that longer-period swell should wrap in nicely.

A quick note on the water temp: on the 14th it was 86.5°F, with a positive anomaly of 1.4°F, meaning it’s a touch warmer than average for mid-August, but nothing extreme.

For the many flat days before that, the break won’t be doing much. The wind does go glassy a few mornings (like the 17th, 18th, 19th, and 20th), but with swell under 1 ft and period sometimes as low as 4 seconds, it’s barely a ripple. Definitely not worth rushing for.

So, hang tight, treat the first two weeks as a total write-off, and keep your eyes on that last weekend of August for a possible salvage mission. The Cove can turn it on with a clean, long-period swell.

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