The Cove Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let’s look at what The Cove has for us over the next few weeks.

The opening weekend is a bit of a mixed bag. Saturday morning is looking tricky – we’ve got a solid 8.2ft swell from the west-northwest with a groundswell period of 13 seconds, but that southwest wind is a cross-off, not quite clean enough to get excited about. It feels like a lot of energy just sliding past us (combined energy of 2379). Saturday afternoon is a write-off – strong wind and messy.

Sunday morning is the first real chance for a session. The swell drops to 6.6ft out of the west-northwest (967 combined energy), with a gentle cross-off breeze from the west-southwest. It’s clean, and the period is still a decent 11 seconds. That afternoon stays small with a 5.6ft west-northwest swell, but the wind turns cross-on, so it’s not doing that wave quality any favours.

Now here’s a nice little window on Monday the 14th. That morning the swell drops right back to 3.3ft from the north-northwest, but it’s clean with a cross-off breeze. The real standout is Monday afternoon: glassy, calm conditions, with a 3.0ft north-northwest swell. The combined energy is low at 456, but when it goes glassy like that, and the break is a clean reef, you know it’s going to be clean, fun little waves. That’s your best session of the first week for anyone wanting real quality.

Tuesday the 15th is no good – fresh cross-shore winds messing up an okay swell. Wednesday and Thursday keep that frustrating trend: plenty of swell (up to 7.5ft and 11.5ft), but wind directions are all wrong, creating chop and cross-chop. It’s not surfable with any joy.

Then things get interesting again. On Friday the 18th, we get a big bump – 13.1ft from the west-northwest with a 13-second period and clean cross-off wind. That’s a lot of water moving (combined energy of 5097), but 13.1ft on a reef is expert territory only. The afternoon holds at 9.8ft, still clean. That Saturday the 19th afternoon is a highlight: 8.2ft from the west, now a light offshore from the south making it clean and lined-up. The guidance says S offshore, which is spot on for The Cove, and the combined energy hits 1620. That’s excellent for an intermediate surfer looking for a proper wave.

Sunday the 20th brings a monster – 16.4ft swell from the west-northwest with a 14-second period, but gale-force winds at 43 mph make it a no-go. Literally dangerous. That run of big, windy swell continues into Monday, and Tuesday morning is another big one (13.1ft, 14 seconds, 6015 combined energy) but this time with a fresh offshore from the south. That’s a heavy, powerful wave only for the brave and very skilled. Crowds at The Cove are listed as “sometimes,” so you might get it mostly to yourself on those days if you’re hardcore.

The last few days of the window have a couple of promising clean windows, especially the afternoon of the 24th with a 7.5ft west-northwest swell and a light offshore, and then the Friday the 25th morning looks brilliant: 6.2ft from the north-northwest, 12-second period, light cross-off breeze from the east-southeast, combined energy at 1274. Clean, manageable, and perfect for a solid reef session.

Water temperature is around average for this time of year – no big anomaly – so just your usual wetsuit thickness.

There are a few gaps with no good surf here – mostly mid-week when the wind is against us, but overall The Cove offers up some true standouts: Monday afternoon the 14th for the glassy clean low-tide style, and Saturday afternoon the 19th for proper offshore perfection. If you can handle the size, Tuesday morning the 22nd is an epic, powerful beast.

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