38 Line Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, this is Rusty checkin' in from 38 Line. Gotta be straight with you – the next couple of weeks are a tough watch here. The first few days are flat as a pancake, with tiny dribbles of weak, short-period windswell barely showing up. We're talkin' slivers of 0.7ft of junk from the ENE. The water temp is a balmy 82°, which is 6° warmer than average – that's a full-on marine heatwave, it's spooky warm for this time of year.

From Thursday the 8th, things start to get a pulse, but it's messy. The wind is gonna be a problem, with strong cross-on breezes in the 15 to 19 mph range for days on end. There's a spike of swell Saturday the 8th – a 6ft pulse from the NNE with a clean wind window in the afternoon, and you get a feeling of moderate energy in the water (387). But it's short-period junk at 7 seconds, so the shape at this exposed beach break will be all over the place. It's a pass for me.

The energy climbs right through the next week, but so does the wind. By Wednesday the 12th, we're seeing 6ft from the NE with combined energy getting into the moderate-to-strong range (392 to 515), but it's still cross-on and lumpy. The pattern holds through to the 14th, just getting bigger and more onshore.

Now, Saturday the 15th is a standout... and I mean that in the most terrifying way. The swell is forecast to absolutely hammer the coast: between 12ft and 13ft from the NE, with a combined energy reading over 2500 – that's extreme power. The wind is cross-on at 12 mph, and honestly, the model's own comment says it all: the swell is predicted to be too big for this break. At that size, short period (9 seconds) and a total lack of shelter, this is a monster. It's for big-wave specialists and experts only, no question. Beginners, stay well clear. Even for the experienced crew, that's a major call with that much energy and onshore juice.

After that chaos, it fades fast into the following week. Monday the 17th sees the swell drop below 3ft, and by Tuesday the 20th, we're back to limp 3ft leftovers. There's a fleeting moment Thursday morning the 20th with cleaner, cross-off wind, but the swell's small (3ft) and weak (72). Not worth paddling out for.

So, the reality is, this is not a good run. The bulk of the 16-day window is blown out by wind or blown up by size. The only true standout is the Saturday 15th event, but it's a menacing one. If you're an expert with a big-gun board and nerves of steel, keep an eye on that Saturday. For everyone else, go find a lake, read a book, and wait for conditions to turn. The forecasts can change, but right now, it's a rough patch.

Rusty.

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