Aberaeron Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s take a look at what Aberaeron has in store for us over the next couple of weeks. I’ll be straight with you – this isn’t a classic stretch for us, and the first week is a proper write-off. We’re looking at a long gap of poor conditions right from the start. From Tuesday the 18th of August all the way through to Saturday the 29th of August, there’s just nothing worth paddling out for. The wind is mostly onshore or cross-onshore, the swell is weak, and those combined energy numbers are barely scraping into double digits – we’re talking 26 to 45 for most of that run, which is weak. It’s lumpy, choppy, and just plain messy.

Things finally start to show a little life on Sunday the 30th of August. The morning session is the first time we see a score of 1 out of 10, which is more of a “maybe” than a “let’s go.” You’ve got a 4ft swell from the WNW with a short 5-second period, so it’s windswell, not a groundswell. The combined energy is still only 73, so it’s weak. But the wind is light from the SSE at 6 mph, and it’s cross-offshore, keeping the surface clean. It’s not going to set the world on fire, but it’s the best we’ve seen in nearly two weeks.

The standout, if you can call it that, is on Monday the 31st of August. The afternoon brings a 6ft swell from the SW, with a period of 7 seconds. That combined energy jumps to 309, which is moderate energy – a real sign of life. The wind is from the S at 12 mph, cross-offshore, so the waves should be clean. However, at 6ft, this is getting a bit much for beginners, but for the intermediate crew, this is your window. The swell direction is SW, and the guidance says the optimum swell direction for Aberaeron is SW, so that’s a perfect match. It’s a beach and point setup, so it can handle that direction. The crowds here are “sometimes,” so you might have a few mates out, but nothing crazy.

The water temperature anomaly is not mentioned in the data, so it’s about average for the time of year. For the first break, that’s all we can say.

Into the first week of September, the surf drops off again. On Tuesday the 1st of September, we get a 4ft SW swell with a longer 10-second period, giving us 271 combined energy, but it’s ruined by a strong 19 mph cross-on shore wind. That’s lumpy and poor. Wednesday the 2nd of September is similar – 4ft from the W, 8-second period, 224 energy, but onshore wind again.

So, to sum it up: don’t bother for the first week and a half. Your best bet is the afternoon of Monday the 31st of August. It’s not going to be epic, but it’s clean, the direction is right, and there’s enough energy to get a few fun ones. After that, it’s back to the waiting game.

Rusty.

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