Annascaul Rivermouth Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s take a good, hard look at what’s coming down the line for our little corner of the coast. To be straight with you, it’s a pretty rough start and there’s a long, quiet gap before we get anything worthwhile. The first proper chance you’ll have to paddle out is later in the week, but we’ll walk through the whole mess day by day.

Right now and through the first few days, it’s a write-off. The water’s sitting at 63°, which is a touch warmer than you’d normally expect for early September, but that’s about the only nice thing I can say. We’ve got a decent amount of swell rolling in, but the wind is absolutely ruining it. Sunday and Monday see waves around 8ft to 8ft, mostly out of the WSW, but the wind is on it or cross-on at 15 to 16 mph, creating choppy, messy conditions. The wave energy is moderate to strong (716 to 1794), but it doesn’t matter when the surface is blown out. Tuesday is even worse with a 22 mph cross-shore that’s just making lumpy chop, and barely any swell. It’s a total dud.

Wednesday the 9th is a slight step up but still only marginal. Morning has a 6ft swell from the west with a light cross-onshore breeze, but the period is short at 9 seconds, and the energy is moderate (463). It’s not pretty, but you might find a crumbly one if you’re desperate. Thursday and Friday mornings look a bit more promising. Thursday the 10th morning has a 7ft WSW swell with a light onshore breeze, still marginal, but Friday the 11th morning is where things finally start to look better. The wind goes glassy – dead calm from the NW at just 3 mph – and we’ve got a 5ft swell from the west. The period is short at 8 seconds, but with those clean conditions, it’s surfable. The energy is weak (247), so don’t expect much punch, but at least the surface will be clean. That’s the first real window to get wet, but it’s not a standout.

After that, it’s back to onshore winds and messy surf through the weekend and into the next week. Saturday the 12th is a no-go with a 8ft WSW swell and strong onshore wind. Sunday the 13th afternoon sees another pulse of bigger swell, 8ft from the west with a longer 12-second period and strong energy (1698), but the wind is on it again at 12 mph. It’s frustrating because there’s plenty of water moving, but it’s just not clean.

Now, here’s the real standout – it’s a bit of a wait, but keep your eyes on Monday the 14th and Tuesday the 15th of September. Monday the 14th morning has a solid 8ft west swell with an 11-second period, and the combined energy is very strong (1914). The wind is a light cross-onshore from the WSW at 6 mph, which is not perfect, but it’s light enough that the surface will have just small ripples. It’s still marginal according to the numbers, but with that much power and a decent period, the waves will have shape. This is a big, powerful groundswell, so at the rivermouth, it should hold up nicely. It’s for the more experienced crew – 8ft is getting into the expert zone for sure. The crowds are sometimes an issue here, so you might have some company, but it’s worth it for the best session on offer in this outlook.

Wednesday the 16th is just stupid. We’ve got 12ft of west swell with 11-second period and extremely strong energy (2593 to 2856), but the wind is screaming at 25 to 28 mph from the W and NW. It’s just a massive, messy, dangerous storm surf. Only for the crazies, and even then, probably not. That energy carries into Thursday the 17th with 10ft waves and lighter wind, but it’s still cross-onshore and messy. A lot of water moving, but no quality.

Towards the end of the period, we get another chance. Sunday the 20th morning has a clean 8ft west swell with an 11-second period and a light cross-shore breeze from the SSE at just 6 mph. That’s a promising setup, with very strong energy (1724). It’s still a powerful groundswell, so keep the rivermouth in mind. That’s the other one to circle on the calendar, but remember, we’re a week and a half out, so the details could shift.

So, to sum it up: the first real clean session is Friday the 11th morning, but it’s small. The true standout is Monday the 14th morning for size, power, and workable conditions, with Sunday the 20th morning as a long-range promising option. The rest is mostly blown out or too big and messy. Stay patient, lads.

Rusty.

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