30th Street/Ship Bottom Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, folks, Rusty here. Let’s be straight with you: the next couple of weeks are a pretty quiet stretch for our stretch of sand at 30th Street/Ship Bottom. We’ve got a long, drawn-out period of tiny wave energy, so you’re gonna have to hunt for any kind of rideable bump. Don't expect any barrels, but if you’re just looking to get wet on a longboard, there are a few fleeting windows.

Right now, on the morning of Tuesday the 11th, we’ve got a tiny 1ft S swell mixed with a bit of leftover energy from a groundswell—the period is a sluggish 6 seconds. The water is a balmy 79°, which is 5° warmer than usual for this time of year. That’s notably warm, a real ‘shorts and spring suit’ kind of feel. The wind is blowing offshore out of the WSW at 9 mph, so the surface is clean despite the lack of height. The combined wave energy is a weak 9, just a ripple in the pond. Later Tuesday, the swell actually drops to 0.3ft, so the afternoon is a total flat spell.

Wednesday the 12th starts grim with a 2ft NE windswell blown out by a 12 mph cross-onshore. Not worth paddling out. But Wednesday afternoon clears right up—the wind drops to a flat glassy calm out of the SSE at 3 mph. The waves are only 1ft and the energy is just 10, but if you’ve got a foamie and no expectations, you can get some glassy knee-high dribblers.

Thursday and Friday are onshore or choppy with very weak, marginal surf (energy under 20). The waves rarely top 1ft. You’d be chasing shadows.

We finally see a tiny blip on Saturday the 16th, but it’s messy. Then, there’s a real gap from Sunday the 17th through to Tuesday the 19th with mostly poor conditions and no decent recommendations.

Now for the best of the lot in this bleak run.

We don’t have a standout big day, but the closest thing to a surf session falls on Thursday morning, August 22nd. We’re looking at a 2ft swell from the SSE with a 7-second period, and the combined energy reads 51—still weak, but it’s a pulse. The wind will be a light cross-offshore from the NNW at 6 mph, making for clean, smooth faces. That’s surfable waves but very ordinary conditions, so don’t expect power. Since it’s a beginner-friendly beach break and the water is warm, you could catch a few soft shoulders without fighting much crowd.

The other tiny highlight is the morning of Sunday, August 24th. The swell is similar, 2ft SSE at 8 seconds, and we get light cross-offshore winds from the NW. The energy is 64—the best reading in the whole run. Again, not big, but the cleanest it will be all week.

With crowds labeled as ‘sometimes’, you might have a few other heads bobbing, but it’ll be a quiet, mellow scene overall.

The long-range forecast into the last week of August is still stuck in this funk—small, short-period windswell and mostly cross-shore or onshore winds. Some mornings on the 23rd and 24th will be glassy with a clean surface, but the waves will be weak. If you’re a kite surfer, the afternoon onshore breezes might get your interest, but for us paddle surfers, this is a two-week lull.

Stay patient. This won't last forever.

- Rusty

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