The South Jetty Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let’s cut through the static and get real about what’s coming up for The South Jetty.

Look, I’ll be straight with you – the next 16 days are a tough stretch for this break. We’ve got a long, bleak run of nothing worth paddling out for. From the start of the period on September 12th, right through to the afternoon of September 20th, it’s all poor surf conditions. Swell is tiny, mostly under 3 ft, with weak energy readings (low two-digit numbers in the brackets), and the wind is all over the shop – onshore, cross-onshore, cross – just not what you want. The water temp is sitting at a very unusual 78°, a whopping 6° warmer than normal for this time of year, so it feels like bathwater, but that’s about the only highlight.

The best we see in that whole stretch is a tiny window on the morning of Saturday the 19th, where the swell bumps to 3 ft from the east with a short period of 6 seconds. The energy climbs to 113 (moderate), but the wind is a moderate cross-onshore breeze at 12 mph, making it choppy. It’s still rated as poor surf. Honestly, for a beach/jetty setup, that’s more interesting for a kite surfer than a paddle surfer.

Then we get a bit of a pulse. Monday the 21st and Tuesday the 22nd bring some size, with swell heights hitting 6 ft and energy readings jumping into the 400s (strong). But the wind is a messy cross-shore to cross-onshore, blowing 22-25 mph. That’s going to be lumpy, choppy, and ugly. That 6 ft at a period of 8 seconds is just not going to shape up well with that wind. Again, this looks like a kite-surfing show, not a surfing one.

The only real standout, and I mean the *only* one worth marking on your calendar, is the morning of Friday the 25th of September. We get a fresh offshore wind from the NNW at 19 mph, which should clean things right up. The swell is a modest 3 ft from the ESE with a period of 9 seconds, and the energy is 114 (moderate). It’s not going to be big, but on a consistent spot like The South Jetty, clean 3 ft surf with an offshore breeze is a solid, fun session. This is your best bet. The afternoon loses the pure offshore, but stays clean with a cross-offshore.

After that, the final days of September fade back into small, windy junk. So, for the next 16 days, hold out for that Friday the 25th morning session. It won’t be pumping, but it’ll be the cleanest you’ll see.

Rusty.

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