38 Line Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s get into it for 38 Line. This is a bit of a slow burner, so don’t be grabbing your board just yet for the first week or so. We’ve got a long stretch of tiny, gutless surf ahead, with a lot of flat spells, before something finally shows up on the radar.

The wait is pretty brutal. From Friday, July 31st all the way through to Friday, August 7th, it’s a write-off. We’re talking nothing but flat dribble – waves under 2 ft, with periods so short the swell is barely breathing. The energy readings are all in the low single digits or teens, like 2 or 17 (weak stuff). It’s just poor surf, day after day. There are a few glassy mornings in there, like on Sunday the 2nd and Tuesday the 4th, but it’s on swells that are basically non-existent. You’d be floating around for nothing.

Then, finally, a pulse of energy arrives on Saturday the 8th of August. The early morning looks like the best of the whole run. We’re seeing a 4 ft swell from the ESE, with a period of 7 seconds. The combined energy jumps to 128 (moderate). The wind is a light cross-off from the N, keeping it clean. It’s surfable, but the conditions are still "very ordinary," so don’t expect perfection. It’s a brief window, though, as the afternoon turns onshore. The water temp is about average for the time of year, so nothing weird there.

The real standout, the one to circle on the calendar, is Tuesday the 11th of August. The afternoon session is the pick of the entire forecast. The swell bumps up to 5 ft from the NE, with a period of 8 seconds, and the combined energy hits 300 (strong). The wind goes cross-off from the NW, setting up for clean waves. It’s a solid, powerful swell. That said, 5 ft is getting into the zone where beginners might get a bit of a beating, so it’s more for the intermediate crew. The 8-second period means it’s a mix of wind and ground swell, but with that energy, it’ll have some punch. The morning of that day is a bit rougher with some light rain and cross-shore chop, but the afternoon cleans right up.

The rest of the second week drops off quickly. Wednesday the 12th has some size but gets messy with rain and onshore winds. By Thursday the 13th, the wind cranks up to 12 mph from the N, creating a horrible cross-chop, and the swell fades. By the 15th of August, it’s back to flat, windy junk.

So, if you’ve got patience, hold out for the afternoon of Tuesday, August 11th. That’s the one. The morning of Saturday the 8th is a decent backup, but the 11th has the better combo of size and offshore wind.

Rusty, signing off.

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