Cap Frehel Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s be straight with you: the next couple of weeks are a tough watch for surf around Cap Frehel. We’ve got one break on the list, and it’s a real challenge to find a window that works.

Right from the start, there’s nothing to get excited about. The forecast kicks off with tiny, weak swell. Saturday morning (15th August) we’re looking at a measly 1ft from the WNW, but with a strong cross-on N wind at 12 mph kicking up chop and a short period of 8 seconds. The combined energy is only 26, which is absolutely feeble. The water is sitting at 68°, which is a notable 4° warmer than usual for this time of year – feels like a bath, but the waves are a total washout.

We’re then stuck in a long, frustrating gap. From Saturday morning all the way through to Wednesday the 20th, conditions stay poor. The swell is tiny, barely hitting 2ft, and the wind is consistently onshore or cross-on from the NW, keeping everything chopped up and messy. The period is mostly short too, between 4 and 7 seconds, meaning weak, crumbly waves. For a solid week, it’s just not worth paddling out.

The situation starts to change a little around Thursday the 20th. We finally see a modest bump in energy, with the combined energy hitting 125 (moderate) on the Thursday morning, and a swell of 3ft from the NW. The period stretches to 9 seconds, which is better. However, the wind is still a fresh cross-on from the WNW at 19 mph, making for lumpy, onshore conditions. As a reef break exposed to the W swell, the direction is off, and the quality will still be poor.

The rest of the period continues the same story. Even when the wind goes light and cross-off on the 22nd and 23rd, cleaning things up, the swell is just too weak – 2ft with a short period, and the energy is down around 25. A clean ankle-slapper is all that’s on offer. There’s a brief moment on the morning of the 26th of August where the swell period hits 10 seconds with the swell coming from the WNW, and a light cross-off wind from the SSW. But the height is only 2ft with combined energy at 85, and this break wants the swell from the W, not the WNW. It’s a tease at best.

Overall, across the entire 16-day window, there’s nothing I could honestly rate as good. The waves stay small, the wind is nearly always problematic, and this spot needs a proper W swell to work. It’s one of those stretches where the ocean just isn’t cooperating for paddle surfing around here.

Stay patient. Rusty.

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