LBI Ship Bottom Surf Forecast
New Jersey, NJ · Long Beach Island beachbreak, picks up swell from many angles.
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LBI Ship Bottom Spot Guide
Best swell
Ideal size
Best wind
The wave
Local knowledge
Long Beach Island juts far enough seaward to grab swell from nearly any direction, and Ship Bottom sits at its accessible middle. The island's bars reshuffle with every storm, so scoring here is about hunting the block where the sand is right — locals treat it as a moving target all season.
Nearby spots
- Atlantic City 23 mi · New Jersey
- Manasquan Inlet 33 mi · New Jersey
- Belmar 38 mi · New Jersey
- Wildwood Crest 58 mi · New Jersey
- Cape May 63 mi · New Jersey
FAQ
What swell direction works best at LBI Ship Bottom?
ESE swell hits LBI Ship Bottom straight on. The spot picks up anything arriving from NE (55°) through S (185°); swell from outside that window is blocked by the coastline.
What wind is best at LBI Ship Bottom?
WNW wind blows offshore and grooms the surf. ESE wind is straight onshore and chops it up; light wind under ~5 kn is fine from any direction.
When is the best time of year to surf LBI Ship Bottom?
Late summer through fall is prime: hurricane season (August-October) sends the year's best long-period swell, and fall-winter nor'easters keep it pumping. Summer runs smallest outside of tropical systems.
What's the best tide at LBI Ship Bottom?
Mid. Tide predictions for the spot's NOAA station are in the forecast above.
Is LBI Ship Bottom good for beginners?
Yes — LBI's long beaches give beginners space, with punchier bars for the experienced after storms.
How warm is the water at LBI Ship Bottom?
Roughly 41°F at its late-winter coldest to about 76°F in late summer. In practice that means a hooded 5/4 with boots and gloves in winter and trunks or a rash guard in summer. The forecast above shows the current water temperature.
How far out is this forecast reliable?
The wave model has real skill to about 10 days, and we cut the chart there instead of padding it with guesses. Days 1-3 are solid, 4-7 useful, 8-10 a trend heads-up - and we publish our measured error against NOAA buoys, updated continuously.
Forecast from TrueSwell's own physics-based wave model (exposure → refraction → breaking, every swell train separately), built on public NOAA and Open-Meteo data and scored daily against NDBC buoy observations. How the model works →