Crab Island Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Howdy, Rusty here. I’ve taken a good look at what’s on offer for Crab Island (Clare), and mate, it’s a bleak outlook. Over the entire 16-day stretch, there’s no real session to get excited about. We’re looking at mostly tiny, weak surf with choppy wind—a classic case of flat-lining when the forecast just ain't cooperating.

Let’s start from Friday 17 July. Through the first weekend, swell is under 1 ft, with combined wave energy a meagre 15 to 59 units—that’s barely any push at all. Winds are cross or cross-onshore, meaning lumpy, messy conditions. Water temp is 62°, a bit warmer than normal for this time of year, but that’s not much consolation. Monday 20 July and Tuesday 21 July tease with a little more energy (up to 59 units) and some clean spells with NE cross-off winds, but the waves are still tiny—1 ft to 2 ft. Nothing worth getting wet for.

The middle of the week, Wednesday 22 July to Friday 24 July, stays rubbish: heights under 2 ft, energy below 32 units, and cross or onshore wind spoiling any hope of a clean face.

Then we get a bit of a pulse on Saturday 25 July and Sunday 26 July. Swell jumps to 5 ft to 6 ft from the WNW, and the combined wave energy hits 329 to 483 units—moderate to strong energy, for sure. But the wind is the killer: fresh to moderate cross-onshore, lumpy, choppy, and on the morning of Sunday 26 July it’s only “marginal” thanks to a light cross-onshore. The swell period is short at 8–10 seconds, so it’ll be dumpy and hard to ride at this reef break. Not the kind of day you’d paddle out for.

From Monday 27 July to Wednesday 29 July, there’s still some size—3 ft to 8 ft—but the wind stays cross-onshore and often fresh, keeping everything lumpy and chopped up. Energy peaks around 790 units, but it’s not clean. Thursday 30 July onward, the swell fades again, dropping under 3 ft with energy below 200 units. The whole thing winds down into more tiny, wind-affected slop right through to Saturday 1 August.

So there it is: no standout sessions in this window. The waves are small or bumpy, and the wind is rarely your friend. Crab Island can go quiet like this sometimes—it’s not unusual. With the wind onshore and a messy bump, the setup looks a bit more like a kite surfer’s playground than a paddle surfer’s dream, especially when that bigger pulse rolls through at the end of July.

Rusty

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