Caerhays Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let’s look at what’s on the table for the next couple of weeks around here.

Honestly, it’s a pretty grim and flat outlook for a while. There’s a long dry spell before anything really shows up. Water temp is about 64°F around Caerhays, which is a touch warmer than usual for this time of year, but that’s about the only positive for a long stretch.

The first week is a bust. Sunday the 6th is no good – tiny 2ft windswell from the SE with a period of only 4 seconds, and the wind is onshore and messy. Combined energy is a weak 23, just a ripple. From Monday the 7th through Wednesday the 9th, we get clean, offshore winds, but the swell is just too small – mostly 1ft to 2ft, with a couple of pulses hitting 3ft. The period gets better on Monday (13 seconds) and Tuesday (11 seconds), and combined energy reaches 121 and 109 on those days, which is moderate, but the size is just not enough to get excited about. Wednesday afternoon bumps to 3ft from the WSW with a short 8-second period, and the cross-offshore wind is clean, but still not worth the wetsuit.

Then it really goes dead. From Thursday the 10th all the way through Sunday the 20th, it’s tiny to nothing. Swell heights are mostly between 0.3ft and 2ft, period jumps around, but energy is weak – mostly two-digit numbers in the teens or twenties. The wind is often cross-on from the SW or SSW, chopping it up. There’s a gap of nearly a week and a half with no proper surf to speak of.

There’s one bright spot, and it’s a long way out. Monday the 21st finally shows a pulse. The morning brings 4ft from the SW with a 6-second period, clean cross-off winds from the WNW, and combined energy of 99 – nearly moderate. The real standout is Monday afternoon: 5ft from the SW, a solid 12-second period, with cross-shore wind from the W. Energy jumps to 601, which is strong. That’s proper groundswell. At 5ft, it’s getting big, maybe too punchy for beginners, but fine for most. The long period means long walls and longer lulls between sets. Caerhays is fairly exposed, and the optimum direction is SSW, so this WSW direction is a bit off but still okay. It’s the best we’ll see, but it’s two weeks out, so treat it as a promising maybe.

Bottom line: nothing worth surfing until Monday the 21st. That afternoon is the one to watch, but don’t bank on it until we get closer. For now, it’s a good time to wax your board and wait.

Rusty.

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