15th Street Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here.

Honestly, looking at the next couple of weeks, it’s a bit of a flat, frustrating stretch for 15th Street (Trestles). The swell window is there, but the energy just isn’t matching up with decent conditions. The water is running a wild 76°F with an anomaly of 8°F, which is way warmer than normal for this time of year – that’s a real standout.

For the first stretch, from August 3rd through the 6th, we’re looking at tiny, weak surf. Swell heights are hovering around 1ft to 2ft, with the combined energy staying in the low to mid hundreds (129-231). It’s basically a lake out there. The wind is light, but it’s onshore, which isn’t doing us any favors. You’d be fighting for a dribble if you even bothered to paddle out. Poor surf conditions all around.

Things pick up a touch in energy from the 7th into the 10th, with combined energy jumping into the three and four hundreds (325-484). Swell sizes nudge up to 2ft to 3ft. The period does get up to 19 seconds on the 7th, which is a long-period groundswell, but it’s coming from the SSW. This puts us in a cross-onshore wind situation, which is going to chop it up. The wave comments just say “poor surf conditions” the whole time. The size is still small, and the wind is making it messy. Not worth the paddle.

The middle of the month, from the 11th to the 13th, is more of the same. We’re seeing 2ft to 3ft of swell, with energy in the 247-469 range. The wind switches around a bit, and we get some cleaner windows with offshore flow on the 11th afternoon and the 12th, but the swell is just too weak to do anything with. It’s still small and underwhelming. The period drops back to 13 seconds on the 11th morning, but again, it’s just not enough.

The last part of the week, the 14th and 15th, offers the biggest bump in size. We see waves finally reaching 3ft to 3ft, and the combined energy is at its strongest for the whole run, hitting 514 and 591 on the 15th. The period is a solid 16-18 seconds, and the wind is favorable – offshore from the W and WNW. The comment on the afternoon of the 15th says “marginal surf forecast or questionable tide conditions,” which is the best we get. This is the most promising window, but it’s still not big. It could be cleanest on the 15th afternoon, but don’t expect any fireworks.

Then, from the 16th onward, we slide back into poor conditions. Swell energy stays in the 300-400s, and the wind gets tricky. The 17th afternoon sees some light rain with a short-period (7 second), 4ft W swell that’s cross-onshore – that’s going to be junky. The 18th has a similar story with 5ft and 4ft but short-period W swells and onshore wind. Again, not worth it.

So, looking at the whole 16-day window, there’s no real standout day. The best on offer is probably the 15th afternoon, when you might get a few clean, waist-high waves on the sets, but it’s marginal. Beyond that, it’s flat and messy. There’s a solid gap of poor surf from the 3rd to the 14th where you’re better off doing something else. To be honest, if you’re keen for a paddle, the 15th is your window, but keep your expectations on the floor.

Stay patient.

Rusty.

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