Bristol Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s be straight with you – this is a tough stretch for surf. We’re looking at a 16-day window, and honestly, the whole thing is a write-off for decent waves. There’s not a single recommendation in the mix.

The problem is, the wind is a constant pain in the neck. It's mostly coming from the north or north-northeast, and almost always cross-onshore, which has the surf all lumpy and choppy. The best of the swell, if you can call it that, comes on the 28th of August with a bit of size – swell heights around 5ft to 6ft from the north – but the wind is just too fresh and onshore to make it any good at Bristol. The water on the 28th morning is at a warm 76°, which is much warmer than usual for this time of year, but that’s about the only positive.

We see combined swell energy hit 739 (moderate to strong) on the 29th of August morning, but again, a 6ft north swell with a period of 11 seconds and a 30 km/h NNE wind makes for terrible, blown-out conditions. The waves will be messy and unrideable. The period does drop to the 8 second range and smaller from the 31st onwards, but the cross-onshore breeze just keeps things poor.

There’s a slight drop in wind into the second week, with a couple of days around the 7th to 10th of September seeing lighter winds, but the swell drops right out too – down to 1ft to 2ft. It’s just not enough. On the 9th of September morning, we get a brief moment of clean conditions with a WNW light breeze, but there's only a 2ft north swell with 73 energy (very weak). That’s barely a ripple.

For a setup like Bristol, being a reef, it's not really delivering. The consistent onshore winds and generally poor surf quality mean that if the wind holds strong, this might actually be more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing, but only if the wind direction changes.

A 16-day blank run like this, while disappointing, is not totally abnormal for this area. Forecasts can change, but right now, there’s nothing to get excited about. The best you can hope for is a paddle with a view.

Rusty.

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