Whale Rock Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, this is a tough stretch of water for us. Whale Rock's an exposed reef that needs things just right, and for the next two and a half weeks, we just aren't getting it. The whole outlook is a series of near-misses and opportunities that never quite line up, so brace yourselves for a lot of flat or messy days.

The water's sitting at 65°, which is a full 4° colder than we'd expect for this time of year. That's a noticeable chill, so you'll want a good wetsuit if you do paddle out.

Starting off the forecast on Friday the 11th of September, we've got a tiny 2-ft SSW groundswell with a very long 15-second period, but a brisk 12 mph crosswind out of the SSW chops it up into poor conditions. The combined energy is only 192, which is weak, and the score is a big fat zero. It stays miserable through the first week. Saturday the 12th sees that short-period swell bump up to 5-ft but it's coming from the east at a weak 6 seconds, and a 16 mph cross-onshore makes for a choppy mess. Not worth the drive. The end of the first week around Monday afternoon the 14th shows a slight glimmer—a tiny 2-ft SSW groundswell but with a clean, cross-offshore wind out of the NNW at 6 mph. The energy's still weak, only 120, but it's the cleanest it'll get. Still, a score of 1 out of 10 tells you all you need to know about the quality.

The second week opens with a bit more size but still poor quality. Tuesday the 15th shows a 7-ft easterly swell with 10-second period and moderate 979 energy, but winds are sketchy and the rating is just a 2. Really only for the hardcore. The pattern of poor surf conditions with scores of 0 or 1 continues through to the end of the 16-day run. We do see a few spots where the wind cleans up—like Thursday afternoon the 17th with clean 5-ft, or Friday the 18th with clean 6-ft and 6-ft—but those are short-period S or SSE swells with periods of just 7 or 9 seconds, meaning weak, fat waves. The energy ramps, like 977 and 646 on the 18th, but the wave quality is still rated as poor.

There is truly no standout here. Monday afternoon the 14th was the only time we got clean conditions on any swell, but that swell was tiny at 2-ft. That's your best bet if you're desperate for a paddle, but don't expect much. For the rest of it, with significant swell and strong, messy winds at a beach-break-type reef, this setup honestly looks more interesting for kite surfing than for paddle surfing. For the rest of us, it's a waiting game. We've got a full 16-day gap without a single decent score, which feels about right for this spot when the conditions don't align.

Rusty.

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