Venice Pier Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright surfers, Rusty here with the full lowdown on what Venice Pier has in store for us over the next couple of weeks. Gotta be straight with you – it's a pretty lean stretch for most of it. The swell is tiny and the wind is almost always onshore, so we’re looking at a lot of messy, small, close-out slop.

To start, Monday the 24th through to the end of August, the surf is marginal at best. Swell is mostly a measly 1ft to 3ft from the SW or SSW. The wind is either cross-on or directly onshore, which kills any chance of a clean wave. The combined wave energy is mostly moderate, sitting between 171 and 494, but with that wind, it doesn't matter. Water temp is running much warmer than usual at 71°, which is a weird anomaly of 6° for this time of year. There are no real windows of clean surf here; it’s just a bunch of mornings with small, wind-affected waves or afternoons with onshore crumble. You could paddle out on a longboard for a bit of exercise, but you won't be catching much.

We roll into the first week of September with more of the same. Mornings are the best of a bad bunch, with occasional light breezes but still the wrong direction. The swell bumps up to 3ft to 3ft from the S and SSW, but the period is short to mid-range (12-13 seconds), so it lacks punch. By Thursday the 4th and Friday the 5th, we see the combined wave energy jump up to strong levels (544 and 643), but it's still paired with onshore or cross-onshore winds. It's frustrating because the energy is there, but the conditions aren't going to let it shine. This is a setup that would be better suited for a kite than a paddle, honestly.

Now, here’s the one real standout in the whole 16-day window. It’s been a long wait, but Monday morning, September 7th, finally looks promising. We get a 3ft swell from the S with a 13-second period. The combined energy is strong at 417, but the big win is the wind: it’s glassy. That's right, glassy. For a sandbar like Venice Pier, that is a major, major positive. It’s still only a small wave, ideal for beginners as it's well under 5ft, but it will be the cleanest it's been all forecast. You’ll want to be in the water early on that Monday because the afternoon reverts to an onshore mess.

For the rest of the forecast, it’s more of the same small, onshore slop right through to Tuesday the 8th. There are really no other standouts.

So, to sum it up: for the next two weeks, save your energy. Score that Monday morning glass on the 7th, and maybe wait for the next swell window.

Rusty, signing off.

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