Bay of Skaill Surf Forecast and Surf Reports

(Orkney Islands, UK)

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- Hourly Forecast
- 16 Day Forecast
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Weather State
Spot Information

Bay of Skaill Surf Guide

Bay of Skaill in Orkney is an exposed break. that has reasonably consistent surf and can work at any time of the year. Works best in offshore winds from the south southeast. Windswells and groundswells in equal measure and the ideal swell direction is from the west northwest.. It very rarely gets crowded here.

Bay of Skaill Spot Info

Type:	Rating:	Reliability:	Todays Sea Temp*:
Beach	4	fairly consistent	8.9°C*ocean temperature recorded from satellite

Surfing Bay of Skaill:

The best conditions reported for surf at Bay of Skaill occur when a West-northwest swell combines with an offshore wind direction from the South-southeast.

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

What's the best time of year to surf Bay of Skaill (for consistent clean waves)?

februaryBest Season: winter

The best time of year for surfing Bay of Skaill with consistent clean waves (rideable swell with light / offshore winds) is during Winter and most often the month of February. Clean surfable waves are typically found 38% of the time in February while 48% of the time it tends to be blown out. For the remaining 14% of the time it is considered too small by most surfers but may still be OK for beginners and groms at times.

clean

38%

Surfable waves that hold up well for longer rides in prevailing cross-offshore, offshore or light wind conditions.

blown out

48%

Surfable sized waves that are of poorer quality due to prevailing onshore, cross-onshore or windy conditions (may be preferable for kitesurfing).

too small

14%

Waves usually considered too small for good surf. Some wave-magnet breaks may still work though if conditions are right (on occasion).

Explore Bay of Skaill Location Map

Interactive Bay of Skaill surf break location map. View information about nearby surf breaks, their wave consistency and rating compared to other spots in the region. Current swell conditions from local buoys are shown along with live wind speed and direction from nearby weather stations. Click icons on the map for more detail. The closest passenger airport to Bay of Skaill is Kirkwall Airport (KOI) in Scotland, 27 km (17 miles) away (directly). The second nearest airport to Bay of Skaill is Wick Airport (WIC) in U.k., 68 km (42 miles) away.

Map Icons:
Break
Live Wave Height (m)
Live Wind Speed (km/h)
Surf Rating (10 Max)
Ocean Swells (m)
Wind Speed (km/h)

Please note that some surf spot locations are approximate to protect their exact location while others are not shown at close zoom level.

Bay of Skaill Surf Forecasts:

Hourly Forecast

16 Day Forecast

Todays Surf Summary
Tuesday, 5 May 2026, 17:12 Local Time

m, °C	Tuesday 05			Wed
ft, °F	4PM	7PM	10PM	1AM
Wave (m)	N	NNW	NNW	NNW
Period (s)	10	10	10	10
Wind (km/h)
Wind State	on	on	on	on

What does Bay of Skaill look like?

Latest photos from Bay of Skaill. Upload your own or view all photos on the gallery page.

Credit: Gill Wildblood

Tides at Bay of Skaill

Current tide and informaton

For Bay of Skaill, 0 km from Bay of Skaill.

Next High Water: 11:36pm | 2.75m

Next Low Water: 05:30pm | 0.71m

NEXT	IS AT (local time)	remaining
high tide
low tide

Bay of Skaill Sea Temperature

Very cold water temperature (8.9 °C) at Bay of Skaill. Despite the sunshine, even with a thick winter wetsuit, neoprene hood, gloves and boots it will be difficult to stay comfortable in the sea for long today.

Today, many surfers would wear a winter wetsuit, a neoprene hood, gloves and boots.