The South Jetty Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, this is Rusty comin' at you from the coast. Right off the bat, I gotta be straight with you—this forecast is a bit of a bummer, especially for the next week and a half. We're looking at a long stretch of poor surf at The South Jetty, so don't hold your breath. The models are showing a real quiet spell, and the first couple of weeks are pretty much a write-off for anything decent. We're talking about a good nine or ten days of frustratingly small, messy waves before we see a faint glimmer of hope.

The water at The South Jetty is runnin' a warm 77°, which is a solid 6° warmer than usual for this time of year. It's like bathwater out there, but with no surf to enjoy it in.

So, for the first few days, from the 8th right through to the 16th of July, it's just not on. The swell is tiny, mostly under 3 ft, and the wind is constantly cross-onshore or cross-shore, making everything choppy and sloppy. The combined energy of any swell is weak, barely cracking 100 (43 to 89). Short period, wind-affected slop. There's one brighter spot on the morning of the 10th where the wind turns light and cross-off, cleaning things up, but the swell is still only 2 ft from the SSE with a short period of 6s. It might look pretty, but there's no power behind it. Not worth paddling out for.

Things drag on through the 17th, 18th, and 19th. The swell drops right off to a paltry 0.7 ft. The wind is clean on the 17th and 18th mornings, but there's just nothing to ride. It's a flat spell, plain and simple.

Now, there is a tiny shift on the 20th of July. The morning of Monday the 20th looks glassy with a NNW wind, and the swell bumps up to 2 ft from the NE. The period is a dreadful 4 seconds, though, so it's going to be weak, fat, and bumpy. The combined energy is still low at 21. It's a "maybe" at best for a longboard or a foiler, but it's not what I'd call a surfable wave for a proper session.

The afternoon of the 21st of July sees the swell nudge up to 3 ft from the east, with a 6-second period and a combined energy of 67. The wind is a gentle cross-onshore, so it'll be a bit bumpy on the surface. That's probably the biggest swell of the whole 16 days, but it's still short-period, wind-affected junk. For a beach/jetty setup, it's going to be a close-out mess. If you're a die-hard, you might get a couple of grovelly ones, but honestly, it looks more interesting for the kite surfers than anyone with a paddle.

To be honest, there's no standout session here. The whole forecast is a dud. The best you can hope for is a session on the 20th or 21st, but my heart ain't in it. The consistency is low, and the quality is poor across the board. It's a frustrating stretch, but that's sometimes how it goes in this part of the world. Forecasts can change, but right now, this is a long, quiet period.

Rusty.

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