30th Street/Ship Bottom Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let's take a look at what's cookin' for the 30th Street/Ship Bottom stretch over the next couple of weeks. I gotta be straight with you right off the bat: this is a tough one. We're lookin' at a long, long dry spell before anything worth paddling out for shows up.

The first recommendation doesn't roll in until Thursday the 3rd of September, and even then, it's a bit of a grinder. For the first few days, we're staring down tiny, weak waves with poor conditions. Saturday the 29th and Sunday the 30th of August are basically a write-off—small scraps of swell and bumpy, cross-onshore wind. The whole first week is mostly flat or knee-high junk.

Now, Thursday the 3rd of September morning finally brings a bit of hope. We get a clean, glassy morning with a moderate offshore breeze from the West at 12 mph. The swell is tiny though, a weak 3 ft coming out of the SSE with a short, choppy period of 6 seconds. The combined energy is a paltry 70, so it's barely got any push. You could maybe find a grovelly little wave on a longboard if you're desperate, but don't expect any fireworks. The afternoon cleans up too but the swell drops right back down.

Friday the 4th and Saturday the 5th are clean again but even smaller. Honestly, it's a frustrating run. The water temp is hovering around average for the time of year, so the rubber isn't a drama.

Then we jump ahead to the best of a bad bunch. Monday the 7th of September morning, we see the biggest bump. Clean conditions with a light cross-offshore breeze from the NNW at 6 mph. The swell jumps to 4 ft from the South, but it's still a short-period 6-second wind swell. The combined energy reads 166, so there's some moderate juice there. It's surfable, but it won't be pretty—fat, crumbly shape with not a lot of punch. At 4 ft it's fine for most, but beginners might find the consistent little lumps a challenge. The southeast break orientation (30th Street) means it'll be picking up some of that S swell, but it's not ideal.

There's another little spike around Wednesday the 9th of September, where a long-period 12-second groundswell rolls in for the morning, but the wind shifts onshore and it's messy and poor. The afternoon sees the combined energy jump to 335, but again, cross-shore wind ruins the party. The conditions stay poor right through the second week, with nothing else really making the cut. The second week is quiet and small.

So, if you're asking for a standout, it's the Monday the 7th of September morning session. It's not classic, but it's the most size we're going to see with clean-enough wind. Get there early. For the rest of the 16 days? Honestly, this setup looks more interesting for a kite surfer than a paddle surfer if the wind is up, especially on the more chop-prone days.

Stay patient, crew. This one's a test.
Rusty

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