30th Street/Ship Bottom Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s coming up.

Honestly, looking at the whole 16-day window, I’ve got to be straight with you – it’s a rough stretch. There’s no real standout swell to get excited about, and the conditions are pretty ordinary for the most part. We’re talking about a long, drawn-out period of small, weak surf. You’ll be waiting a while for anything that even gets close to being worth a paddle.

The only spot I’ve got to work with is 30th Street/Ship Bottom. The water temp is sitting at 75°, which is a touch warmer than normal for this time of year, so you won’t need a thick wetsuit, but that’s about the only perk.

The first few days, from Saturday the 29th right through the first week of September, are a write-off. We’re looking at tiny waves, mostly around 1 ft to 2 ft from the SE or E, with a short, weak period of 8 seconds or less. The combined energy is just pitiful, barely getting into double digits (36, 28, 18 – you get the picture). The winds are a mess, too – cross-on, choppy, sometimes onshore. It’s just not surfable.

Around Wednesday the 2nd of September, there’s a tiny blip where the energy nudges up to 104 – still tiny, but at least it’s something. The swell is 2 ft from the SE with a period of 11 seconds, but it’s coming with onshore rain showers, so it’s all chop and no shape. Not worth it.

The pattern stays small and limp right through the first week. The only semi-interesting moment pops up on Tuesday the 8th of September. The morning is clean, with a light cross-off breeze from the SSW. The swell is tiny, 1 ft, but the period stretches out to a very long 14 seconds. That’s a groundswell pulse, and the energy creeps up to 47. By the afternoon, the swell is 1 ft from the SE at 12 seconds, and the energy hits 82. The conditions are clean, but the waves are still very ordinary. You’d be scratching for a waist-high runner.

Then Wednesday the 9th of September morning sees the best energy of the whole run, with the combined energy hitting 160. The swell is 2 ft from the SE at 11 seconds, and the wind is a clean cross-off from the SW. It’s still small, but that’s the best the window has to offer. The afternoon drops off a bit to 2 ft and 130 energy.

After that, it’s back to the same story: small, weak, and messy. There’s a morning on Thursday the 10th with a clean offshore from the W, but the wave is only 1 ft and the energy is 59. It’s surfable, but barely.

The second week, from the 11th onward, is a total fade. The swell stays below 2 ft, the periods are short (6-7 seconds), and the energy is just a sad number in the 30s and 40s. The morning of the 12th of September sees a small bump to 4 ft swell from the ENE, but it’s a short-period windswell (6 seconds) with a light cross-on breeze. The energy is 87, but it’s just a messy, weak wave.

Honestly, mates, if you’re a beginner, most of this is too small to even be fun. For the more experienced crew, it’s a frustrating wait. The best call is to keep your eyes on Wednesday the 9th of September morning for the cleanest, most energetic conditions, but even then, don’t expect much. The rest is mostly a blank run. It stays poor for a while, but forecasts can change – let’s hope they do.

Rusty.

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