30th Street/Ship Bottom Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s look at what’s on the menu for 30th Street/Ship Bottom over the next couple of weeks.

Straight up, it’s a tough start. We’ve got a long, dry spell to kick things off. From Thursday the 30th of July all the way through to the morning of Saturday the 8th of August, the surf is tiny and weak. The combined swell energy barely cracks 80 (like 49 to 76) for the first week, and it’s mostly short-period 7 to 8 seconds, wind-blown junk. Not worth paddling out for. You’re looking at a solid 10-day gap of nothing worth mentioning.

The only glimmer in that first stretch comes early on Monday the 3rd of August. The morning brings a light offshore breeze from the WSW, scrubbing the surface clean. The swell is still only 3ft from the SSE, with a weak 64 combined energy, but it’s surfable. It’s ordinary, but it’s clean. If you’re desperate, that’s your window.

Now, the real action starts to stir on the weekend of the 8th and 9th of August. Saturday the 8th sees a proper pulse of energy. The morning shows a 3ft SE swell with a period stretching to 11 seconds, and the combined energy jumps to 185. By the afternoon, it builds to 3ft, period 10 seconds, and the energy hits 210. The wind goes cross-offshore from the SSW, making for clean, workable conditions. That’s the standout of the whole outlook. It’s not huge, but after all that flatness, this is the one to circle.

Moving into Sunday the 9th, the swell fills in more. The morning shows 4ft from the SSE with a long 12-second period, and the energy rockets up to 431. That’s a moderate-strong pulse. The wind is light from the north, cross-shore, so it’ll be a bit bumpy, but there’s real power. That long period means the waves will have shape, but it might be a bit too lined up for a beach break like this. Still, it’s the biggest swell of the run.

The second week, from the 10th of August onward, the swell hangs around at 4ft to 4ft from the SE, with long 12-second periods and energy in the 300s to 500s. But the wind shifts onshore from the east or southeast, and the wave comment is consistently “poor.” The combo of that long-period swell and onshore wind will make it a messy, blown-out mess. That’s a kiteboarder’s setup, not a surfer’s. There’s a lot of energy (526 on the 12th), but it won’t be clean for paddling.

The water temp is about average for the time of year, no wild anomalies to report.

So, if you’re patient, the best bet is Saturday the 8th of August. The afternoon session is the pick of the litter. The following Sunday morning has the biggest swell, but the wind is iffy. After that, it’s a write-off.

Rusty.

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