Baie de Douarnenez Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here, looking at the next couple of weeks. Gotta be straight with you – it’s a tough stretch ahead for Baie de Douarnenez. The next few days are pretty much a write-off with onshore wind and messy conditions. We’re looking at a big gap of poor surf right through to the end of August.

The water is sitting at 67° right now, which is a touch warmer than normal for this time of year.

Wednesday 19th August kicks off with a westerly swell around 5ft, but that wind is on it at 16 mph from the WSW. It’s just poor. The afternoon gets a little more size at 5ft with a 10-second period, but again, onshore wind kills it. The wave energy is moderate (145 for the morning, climbing to 505 by the afternoon), but it doesn't matter with that wind.

Thursday 20th sees a bit more size – 6ft from the WNW – but the wind stays on it from the west. The energy is getting stronger (655 in the morning, up to 718 in the afternoon), but it’s still not clean. The period is a nice 9 to 10 seconds, but with that onshore breeze, you’re just getting blown-out closeouts.

Friday 21st is more of the same. The swell drops slightly to 5ft with a cross-onshore breeze. The energy is moderate (387 morning, 725 afternoon), but the word is “poor.” Not worth the paddle.

The weekend drops right off. Saturday 22nd and Sunday 23rd see the swell collapse to barely 2ft. There’s finally some clean conditions with cross-offshore winds, but there’s just no wave energy (down to 40 on Sunday morning). You’re on a longboard just to get a bump.

From Monday 24th through Wednesday 27th, the swell is tiny – 0.3ft to 4ft – with weak energy. A few moments have clean wind, but the ocean is flat.

Now, here’s where it gets interesting. Thursday 27th August the swell jumps to 8ft from the WSW, and the period hits a solid 12 seconds. The combined energy is massive at 3157. This is groundswell territory. But the wind is on it from the WSW, and it’s a marginal forecast. For a spot like Baie de Douarnenez (a beach and reef setup), that size with a long period can be heavy and tricky. It’s really only for experts at this point.

Friday 28th drops back to 5ft, but the wind is still messy.

The real standout, if you can wait, is Monday 31st August. The morning has an 12ft swell from the west with a 12-second period. The energy reading is a massive 3254. The wind is a cross-onshore at 12 mph. The forecast notes it’s actually wind and tide favorable, but the swell is predicted to be too big for this break. If you’re a seasoned big-wave charger, this is your window, but it’s going to be heavy and for experts only. The afternoon gets even bigger energy at 3836, but the wind swings onshore.

Tuesday 1st September stays big at 10ft with an 11-second period, but again, the wind is cross-on to onshore. The energy is still huge (1864 morning, 3193 afternoon). It’s a marginal call.

After that, into Wednesday 2nd and Thursday 3rd September, the swell drops back to the 5ft to 7ft range, but the wind picks up to a fresh 22 mph breeze, making it lumpy and messy.

So, to sum it up: for the next week and a half, save your energy. The only real chance for a surf is that big pulse at the end of August into early September, but it’s big, it’s raw, and it’s for the experienced crew only. The rest is a flat, blown-out mess.

Rusty.

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