West Dale Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, let’s get real about the surf out here. I’ve been staring at the charts for West Dale, and honestly, it’s a rough stretch. We’ve got a solid week and a half of onshore junk and blown-out conditions before things finally start to turn around.

The water is sitting at a touch warmer than normal for this time of year, about 63°F, so a little extra warmth but that’s where the good news ends for a while.

The first few days are basically a write-off. Tuesday afternoon kicks off with a cross-onshore breeze and a lumpy 6ft of wind swell (combined energy 183), and it just stays messy. Wednesday and Thursday follow the same pattern – plenty of swell but it’s all cross-onshore, choppy, and just not worth paddling out for. Thursday afternoon actually pushes up to 7ft (energy 496) but it’s coming with a strong cross-onshore wind and rain, so that’s a hard pass for anyone wanting clean waves. It’s going to be a battle, not a surf.

The weekend doesn’t bring any relief either. Friday, Saturday, and Sunday are all still onshore and lumpy. The swell drops a bit but the quality is still poor. There’s a brief window on Saturday morning before the wind cranks up, but it’s short-lived and still cross-onshore. Sunday offers a bit more size but it’s onshore again. Honestly, you’d have more fun watching the grass grow.

We’re looking at a solid 10-day stretch of nothing. I’m not gonna sugarcoat it – this is grim. You’d be better off finding a pool.

But here’s the light at the end of the tunnel. Around the 20th of September, things finally start to shift. The wind swings around to a light cross-offshore from the southeast and the ocean goes glassy. The problem is, there’s no swell. The waves are tiny, that 0.3ft stuff (energy 16), clean but completely flat. It’s a tease.

But that offshore wind sets up the pattern, and by the 22nd of September, the swell starts to build back. We’re looking at a clean 3ft SW groundswell with light winds. The energy is starting to pick up (150). It’s small, but clean, and it’s the best we’ve seen in what feels like an eternity. It’s going to be small and clean, not a standout, but surfable.

The real hope is for the end of the month, but that’s still a bit too far out to call. For now, the takeaway is simple: don’t get your hopes up this week. The surf is poor, the wind is wrong, and it’s going to stay that way for a while. The light offshore breezes at the end are a promise of better things, but we need the swell to show up with them. Keep your board ready, but maybe find something else to do for the next week or so.

This is Rusty, signing off. It’ll turn around, it always does.

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