Thousand Steps Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright crew, Rusty here. Let’s chew the fat on what’s coming up for the next couple of weeks.

Right off the bat, it’s a quiet spell. We’ve got a consistent, low-energy SW groundswell, but the wind is just making a mess of things. The water’s a balmy 73°, which is a wild 6° warmer than normal for this time of year – feels like summer out there, but the surf doesn’t match.

For the first week, starting Monday 14th September, it’s a real grind. The swell sits between 1ft and 3ft out of the SW, with some decent long periods of 16 to 20 seconds, but the wind is a stubborn cross-onshore out of the S and WSW, putting a chop on everything at Thousand Steps. The combined energy readings are moderate, from 218 up to 503, but almost every session is tagged as “poor surf conditions.” A few windows around Thursday 17th September to Saturday 19th September get a “marginal” nod, but with light, shifty wind, it’s still a longshot for a clean wave.

Into the second week from Monday 21st September, the story doesn’t change much. The swell holds at about 2ft to 3ft from the SW, but the period starts to fade, dropping to 12 to 17 seconds. The wind is still a pain—mostly a light to gentle cross-onshore breeze from the W and SW. Energy levels drop to a weak-to-moderate 206 to 326. The forecast keeps throwing up either “poor” or “marginal” labels. There isn’t a single day in this whole run where the stars align for a proper session.

The best bet is a Tuesday morning on the 29th of September, with a tiny 2ft SW swell, a 16-second period, and a near-calm SSW breeze of just 3 mph. That’s the cleanest it’ll get, but you’ll be hunting for something to ride.

To be honest, this stretch looks better for a kite surfer than a paddle surfer. There’s enough consistent energy to keep a kite moving, but the constant cross-onshore wind and small, weak surf mean the paddle crew is going to be frustrated. It’s a tough run, but it won’t last forever.

Rusty.

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