Bristol Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Gotta be straight with you – this forecast is a rough one. Over the next 16 days, we're looking at a run of poor surf conditions at Bristol. The swell is weak and messy, and the wind is almost always working against us. Honestly, there's no standout day, no real window of quality to get excited about. You'll be waiting a long time for anything half-decent.

Let's start from Sunday the 5th of July. We've got a tiny 3 ft swell from the north at a 9-second period, but it's got a moderate cross-shore wind chopping it up. Combined wave energy is low at 135, and the report says "poor surf conditions." This sets the tone for the whole period – just not worth paddling out.

Monday the 6th looks the same – 1 ft to 2 ft of north swell, still choppy. Tuesday the 7th finally sees a bit of offshore wind from the NNE at 6 mph, but the swell is only 2 ft with a 5-second period – that's weak, short-period junk that won't have any push (39 energy). The light breeze helps keep it clean but there's just nothing to ride.

Through the rest of the first week and into the second, it's a sad story. Persistent cross-onshore and cross-shore winds from the north keep the surface messy. The swell barely climbs above 2 ft. On Sunday the 12th, the period stretches to 8 seconds from the NW, but with a moderate cross-onshore breeze, it's still choppy and poor.

Here's the thing: on Monday the 13th, the swell height bumps up to 4 ft from the north, but the wind cranks up to 19 mph from the NNE, and the energy climbs to moderate levels (158). This is not good news. The water temp is about average for this time of year. With that strong onshore wind and a beach/reef setup, this is looking more like a kite-surfing day than a paddle-surfing day. The whole second week is dominated by 3 ft to 4 ft of north swell but constantly hammered by 16-19 mph cross-onshore winds. Lumpy, choppy, and ugly.

There's a slight glimmer on Sunday the 19th afternoon – the period stretches to 9 seconds from the north, with moderate wave energy at 202. But with a fresh 19 mph cross-onshore, it's going to be a messy, blown-out heap. Not recommended.

This is just a tough stretch for Bristol. No surf worth chasing. Sometimes the ocean just shuts down for a stretch. Hang up the wetsuit for a bit, and check back for the next forecast – things can't stay this flat forever.

Rusty.

Read more