Bundoran Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, let’s have a look at what’s cooking for the next couple of weeks here at Bundoran. It’s a reef setup, exposed to the northwest, so it needs a decent nudge from that direction to get going. Water temperature is sitting at 62°F, which is a touch warmer than normal for this time of year, so you might get away with a thinner wetsuit if you’re brave.

Right now, we’re looking at a pretty flat spell to kick things off. The first few days – Saturday the 1st right through to Tuesday the 5th – are a write-off. Swell is tiny, and what little there is comes with onshore or cross-onshore winds. The combined energy for Saturday morning is only 70 (weak), and it just gets smaller. Not worth paddling out for.

We get a slight glimmer on Sunday the 2nd morning. The wind swings around to the ESE at 3 mph, going offshore, and the wave heights are only 2ft from the NW with a period of 8 seconds. The combined energy is only 54 (weak), and the call is “surfable waves but very ordinary conditions.” It’s clean, but it’s tiny. Not a standout, just a chance to get wet.

The next real chance comes on Friday the 7th morning. The swell picks up a bit to 2ft from the WNW, period at 9 seconds, and the wind is light out of the SW at 9 mph, giving us a clean cross-off. The combined energy is 86 (weak). Again, it’s surfable but ordinary. The afternoon sees the swell bump to 3ft and the energy jumps to 169 (moderate), but the wind swings cross-on from the WNW at 12 mph, making it choppy and poor.

Saturday the 8th has a bit more size – 4ft from the W, period 8 seconds, combined energy 228 (moderate) – but again, the wind is cross-on from the W at 12 mph, so it’s messy. Not the one.

The best-looking window in this whole 16-day stretch is Monday the 10th morning. It’s not huge – 2ft from the NW, period 8 seconds – but the wind drops to a glassy 3 mph from the NNW. That’s right, glassy. Combined energy is only 59 (weak), so it’s small, but if you want clean, workable waves, this is your moment. This is the standout of the entire forecast. The swell direction is a bit off the optimum NW, but with glassy conditions, Bundoran’s reef will offer up some fun, tidy lines.

After that, it’s back to the doldrums. Tuesday the 11th onward is mostly tiny, with poor conditions and onshore winds. There’s a bit of a pulse around Thursday the 13th – 3ft from the W, period 9 seconds, combined energy 96 (weak) – but the wind is cross-off from the SSW at 9 mph, so it’s clean. Still, it’s small and not worth getting excited about.

Friday the 14th and Saturday the 15th see the swell size bump to 4-4ft from the W, with moderate energy around 200-268, but the wind is howling cross-on or onshore at 16-19 mph, making it lumpy and poor. Not for paddle surfing – that’s kite territory.

So, the honest truth: the 16-day window is pretty weak. There’s a long gap of poor surf from the start until Friday the 7th, and then another gap after Monday the 10th. The only real standout is Monday the 10th morning with that glassy wind and clean conditions. Don’t expect much else.

Rusty.

Read more