Cable Bay (Porth Trecastell) Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, it’s Rusty. Let’s be straight with you: the next couple of weeks at Cable Bay (Porth Trecastell) are mostly a write-off for anything decent. We’ve got a long, flat stretch ahead, and it’s going to test your patience. But there’s a glimmer of hope way out at the end of the forecast, even if it comes with a warning.

Right now, and for the next week and a half, it’s tiny. We’re talking knee-high slop at best, with most days showing nothing over 1ft. The wind is all over the shop, and even when it’s clean, there’s just no energy in the water. The few little pulses that do show are weak, with combined energy readings mostly in single digits or low tens, which is about as weak as it gets. There’s a bit of a bump mid-week around the 18th and 19th, pushing 3ft to 6ft, but it’s cross-shore and lumpy, and with energy still only in the moderate range (67 to 183), it’s not going to be pretty. Honestly, it looks more like a mess than a surf.

We then hit a proper dead zone. From the 20th through the 26th, it’s basically flat, with swell heights bottoming out at 0.3ft. There are some glassy mornings and even some offshore winds in there, especially around the 23rd and 25th, but you can’t surf air. That’s a solid week of nothing. If you’re desperate, you might find a knee-high ripple, but it’s not worth the drive.

But hold on. The last couple of days of the window start to wake up. On the 27th, we see a pulse of 5ft to 6ft from the S and SSW, with period at 6 to 7 seconds. The energy jumps to a moderate 180 to 325, but it’s onshore for the afternoon and the conditions are still described as ordinary. It’s surfable, but you’ll be working for it.

The real story, the one that has my heart racing a little, is the 28th of August. Swell from the SW builds to a solid 12ft, and the energy is massive – a very strong 1729 in the morning and 1788 in the afternoon. The period is only 8 to 9 seconds, which is a bit short-period for that size, and the wind is a fresh offshore from the ENE in the morning, turning cross-off from the N later. That means it’ll be groomed and clean. But here’s the kicker: 12ft is huge. That’s expert-only territory, and for a spot like this, it might just be too much. It’ll be a sight to see, but unless you’re a seasoned charger with a big board, you might be better off watching from the cliff. It’s over 8ft, so it’s only for experts, and even then, it’s a question of whether it’s breaking properly or just closing out. The 29th is still big at 8ft, easing to 7ft, but the period drops and the energy backs off, making it more marginal.

So, the one true standout in this whole 16-day stretch is that 28th. It’s a big, powerful, clean swell, and if you’ve got the skill and the nerve, it could be one for the books. But it’s a long-range call, so don’t book the time off yet. Everything before that is a waiting game.

Rusty.

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