Aberavon Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let's be straight with you – I've had a good look at what's on offer for the next couple of weeks, and I'm not going to sugarcoat it. It's a flat spell, and I mean a proper flat spell. We're looking at a long stretch of tiny, weak waves with poor conditions. There’s no standout session, no sneaky gem, just a whole lot of waiting.

The biggest problem is that the swell is barely registering. We're stuck with waves under 3 ft for the entire run, and most of the time it's a paltry 0.3 ft to 2 ft. The combined wave energy is laughably low – often just single digits. For the first ten days, the energy readings are mostly between 1 and 17, which is basically zero energy. Things only just start to nudge up into the moderate range (128-136) right at the very end, but by then the wind is howling straight onshore. For a beginner, you're not missing anything. For an expert, there's nothing to ride.

Let's start with the break. Aberavon is a beach/reef/pier setup that's fully exposed to the swell. The water temperature is 21° – that's a massive 5° warmer than normal, which is very unusual for this time of year. You'll be surfing in a wetsuit, but it'll be a shorty at most.

Now, through the period. The first few days are a total write-off. Thursday the 16th has glassy conditions with a 0.3 ft, 14-second swell from the SW, but the energy is only 17. It's a micro-swell with no push. Friday the 17th, the morning is glassy, but the swell is 0.7 ft from the W. It's a “poor surf conditions” call. The onshore wind picks up by the afternoon and ruins any chance of a wave. Saturday the 18th starts with a 0.3 ft westerly and ends with a 1 ft NW windswell, but that's a 3-second period – you can't surf that.

We roll through the next week with the same story. The 22nd of July, Wednesday afternoon, we get a 2 ft NW swell from a cross-offshore wind, but the period is a pathetic 4 seconds. It's clean, but it's wind-chop, not surf. The 25th of July, Saturday, we see the swell start to nudge up to 2 ft, but the wind is cross-on, making it choppy. The 29th of July, Wednesday morning, is the most interesting – we get a 3 ft swell from the WSW with a wave energy of 128. But the wind is a fresh 15 mph cross-onshore, so it's going to be a bumpy, lumpy mess. The 31st of July, Friday morning, is the only time the wind looks clean with a cross-offshore NW breeze blowing 12 mph, and the swell is 2 ft at 7 seconds from the W, with an energy of 65. It's not great, but it's the cleanest wave of the whole forecast.

So, to be honest, there is no standout. The best I can say is Friday the 31st of July morning might give you a few weak, clean lines if you're desperate. The rest of the time, the wind is onshore or the swell is non-existent. The setup at Aberavon, with the onshore wind and weak swell, looks more interesting for a kite surfer than a paddle surfer.

For the second week, the theme is the same: a slight uptick in swell size, but it's always paired with strong onshore winds. The energy levels climb into the 30s and 40s, but it's all wind-affected. It’s a tough run.

Rusty.

Read more