Whale Rock Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, this is Rusty. Let's get into it.

Honestly, for the next 16 days, it’s a rough stretch here at Whale Rock. We’ve got a big, empty ocean on the horizon, but the local winds are going to mess it up almost every time. The first solid pulse of swell doesn't really show up until the middle of the second week, and even then, conditions will be a fight.

The water temp is sitting at 69°F, which is bang on average for this time of year, so no weirdness there.

The 16-day window starts off with a long, frustrating gap. From Thursday, September 3rd right through until Monday, September 14th, there is almost nothing worth paddling out for. The wind is constantly cross or cross-onshore, and when the swell does show up early on, it’s either messy, blown out, or the period is too short. The combined swell energy will hit some massive numbers like 1889 and 2209, but it’s all junk with the wind, so it’s just a washing machine.

The one true standout, the best we’ve got, is the afternoon of Tuesday, September 15th. We’ll see an 8ft swell out of the S, which is proper, but only for experts at that size. The wind will be a moderate cross-shore from the SSW, which is the cleanest wind we’ll see for any significant swell. Despite a "marginal" tag, this is the window to watch. The combined swell energy is a very strong 2157, meaning there’s plenty of power, but those longer-period S swells are best handled by this reef setup. Crowds are possible here.

There’s also a morning session on Tuesday, September 15th, with 5ft swell and a cross-shore wind, but the afternoon is the better bet for size.

After that, we drop right back down into choppy, cross-onshore junk for the rest of the forecast. The morning of Friday, September 18th actually has clean-looking conditions with a cross-offshore wind, but the swell is only 2ft, so it’s a foil or nothing.

Pretty grim, to be honest. For 16 days, there’s just that one Tuesday afternoon that looks like it might fire.

Rusty.

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