Tijuana Sloughs Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, listen up. It’s Rusty here, and I’ve been staring at the charts for our stretch of coast. The next couple of weeks are gonna test your patience, that’s for sure.

We’re looking at a long stretch of small, jumbled-up surf. The first real call isn’t even worth paddling out for until the morning of Friday the 28th, and even then, it’s pretty marginal. The swell is there, just under 2 feet from the SW, but it’s not organized. We’ve got the light cross-onshore breeze messing up the surface, and the energy is just weak to moderate at best (393 to 422). It’s a classic “sit on the beach and watch” kind of day.

This poor run carries on through the weekend and into the beginning of next week. The swell bumps up a bit on Saturday the 29th—around 4 to 4 feet—from the SW/S, but the winds stay on it and the wave energy, while moderate (around 700-843), is still a mess. The period is long, 16 seconds, which is fine for a point or reef, but for a river mouth like Tijuana Sloughs, it might be breaking a bit too straight and crumbly. The conditions notes keep saying “marginal” or just plain “poor,” and I trust that. There’s no glory in getting skunked.

Honestly, the whole period is littered with poor surf conditions. We have a few days there from the 31st through the 7th where I wouldn't even bother waxing up. The swell stays small, the winds stay onshore or cross-onshore, and the ocean is just choppy. We see a slight uptick on the morning of the 3rd with 5 feet on the forecast, but the period drops and the wind picks up, so it turns to chop. If you're desperate on the 8th, there's a bump in size.

Now, here’s the only time this whole outlook gets interesting. That’s on the morning of Tuesday the 8th of September. The swell jumps up to a solid 6 feet from the S, and the energy jumps to strong (1310). The wind is still cross-onshore, but it’s only a light breeze, which is a huge plus after all this wind. The period is 13 seconds, so it’s got some punch behind it. It’s a big step up in size and power compared to everything else.

The day after, Wednesday the 9th, will still have a solid 7 feet of S swell, but the period drops a touch to 11 seconds. It’s still in the good zone, but that first morning on the 8th looks like the pick of the bunch. This is expert territory though. Swell over 5 feet is pushing it for beginners, and at over 8 feet, it’s experts only. The river mouth will be a washing machine. It’s gonna be heavy and powerful, and not for the faint of heart.

After that pulse fades, we’re right back to the small stuff. The mornings of the 10th, 11th, and 12th show about 3 feet of SW swell with light winds, but it's all just heading back to that marginal zone. It doesn’t look like there’s a second pulse coming through.

So, what’s the call? There are a lot of days over the next two weeks with nothing on offer. You're looking at gaps of several days where there just isn't any recommendation worth chasing. The one true standout is the morning of Tuesday, September 8th. Get on it early before the onshores kick up and chop it all to pieces. It’s gonna be a big, powerful swell, and even with the light cross-onshore, it might be the one time this setup gets some real juice. Everything else is a bust, so pick your window wisely. This is Rusty, signing off.

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