Brims Ness Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s be straight with you. We’ve got one break on the menu for the next 16 days: Brims Ness. It’s a reef set-up that works best with a northwesterly swell, and it’s an expert-only zone. The water is sitting at 56°F which is pretty much spot on for this time of year—nothing weird going on there.

First up, the outlook is grim. From Saturday August 1st right through to the end of the first week, it’s a write-off. We’re talking poor surf, cross and cross-onshore winds, and a messy, choppy surface. The combined swell energy is weak, sitting around 177 (moderate wave energy) on Saturday morning, but the wind is a solid 16 mph from the west, killing any chance of clean lines. Those first few days are a hard pass. Sunday the 2nd sees a bit more height at 4 ft to 4 ft, but the wind is still cross-onshore and the period is a short 8 seconds. You’ll be fighting chop, not riding waves.

The best chance in this whole period – and I’m not overselling it – falls on Friday the 7th and Saturday the 8th. On Friday afternoon, we get glassy conditions with a light 3 mph wind from the north-northwest, and the swell is small, 2 ft, from the west with a period of 9 seconds. The combined energy is only 76 (weak wave energy), but that glassy surface is a gift. The waves will be small and clean, but given the reef and the low energy, it’s a mellow one for the experts. The same goes for Saturday morning the 8th: glassy again, 2 ft, 8-second period. It’s surfable, but it’s ordinary.

After that, the wind turns messy again. There’s a big spike in swell from the 14th of August onward—8 ft to 10 ft from the west-northwest, with a period of 9 to 10 seconds and combined energy values hitting 1533 (very strong wave energy). That’s a lot of water moving. But the wind is onshore or cross-onshore, making it choppy and close to unsurfable. That kind of size and power, with poor wind, is for the bravest and most experienced only, and even then it’s not going to be pretty. The period is moderate, so the shape won’t be as good as a longer period groundswell.

In short, the only window worth paddling out for is the glassy, small stuff on Friday the 7th and Saturday the 8th. For the rest of this 16-day run, you’re either looking at postage stamp surf or blown-out monsters. No standouts here, just a couple of clean, tiny sessions for the dedicated.

Rusty.

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