Crantock Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s coming up for Crantock over the next couple of weeks.

Right off the bat, I gotta be straight with you – this is a lean stretch. The entire 16-day window is a bit of a write-off for proper surfing. We’ve got a long run of days where the conditions just aren’t coming together. The swell is small and weak, and the wind is almost always onshore or cross-onshore, leaving the waves choppy and messy. There’s no real standout window, and the data shows a whole lot of "poor surf conditions" across the board.

The water temp at Crantock is running at 66°, which is a touch warmer than normal for this time of year, so that’s a small comfort if you’re just going for a paddle.

Let’s walk through it. The first few days, from Saturday the 15th through Monday the 17th, we’re looking at weak swell around 2 ft to 3 ft from the W, with periods around 7 to 8 seconds. The wind is blowing from the N and NW, making it cross-onshore and choppy. Combined swell energy is barely scraping into the low hundreds or even below – just 117 (ft) on Saturday morning, dropping to a paltry 35 (ft) by Sunday afternoon. Not worth getting wet.

Tuesday the 18th and Wednesday the 19th are more of the same: 3 ft of weak, short-period W swell, but the wind is still on it from the WSW or WNW, and the energy figures are low at 95 (ft) and 131 (ft) respectively. A bit of light rain on Tuesday doesn’t help the vibe.

Now, Thursday the 20th sees a bit of a bump in size – swell hits 6 ft from the W – but the period is still short (8 seconds) and the wind is a fresh 19 mph cross-onshore. The energy jumps to 480 (ft), but it’s just a messy, lumpy, blown-out mess. That’s too big for beginners and not clean enough for anyone else. Friday the 21st is similar, with 4 ft to 4 ft swell and energy in the 200-300 (ft) range, but still cross-onshore winds. It’s a no-go.

The weekend of the 22nd and 23rd drops back to tiny surf – 1 ft to 2 ft – with a bit of a longer period on the 23rd (11 seconds), but the wind is all over the place. There’s a brief moment on Sunday morning the 23rd with a fresh offshore from the E, but the swell is only 1 ft, so it’s clean but flat. The energy is just 93 (ft). You’d be better off with a longboard and a lot of patience.

The following week, from Monday the 24th onward, brings a new swell from the N and NNW, but with it comes strong winds. Monday the 24th has 6 ft to 6 ft of short-period N swell, but a 25 mph cross-onshore wind makes it a total mess – energy is 249-294 (ft), but it’s more of a kite-surfing setup than a paddle-surfing one. Tuesday the 25th through Wednesday the 27th drops back to 1 ft to 4 ft, still with onshore to cross-onshore winds from the NNW. Choppy, lumpy, and not worth the effort.

Finally, there’s a glimmer on the last few days – Friday the 28th and Saturday the 29th. The swell is tiny, only 1 ft to 2 ft from the W, with periods around 8 to 9 seconds, but the wind finally goes light and offshore from the SE and ESE. The energy is low – 32 (ft) to 58 (ft) – but the conditions are clean. If you’ve got a log and you’re desperate, Saturday morning the 29th could give you a few glassy, knee-high runners. Sunday the 30th also looks clean with cross-offshore winds from the E, but again, the swell is only 2 ft to 2 ft.

So, the cold truth is there are no good surf options in this 16-day window. The swell is either too small, too short-period, or blown out by onshore winds. For a spot like Crantock, which is a river mouth and fairly sheltered, a blank run like this is more normal than you’d hope. The breaks are fairly consistent here, so it tends not to stay poor for long, but this forecast is a dud.

If you’re a kite surfer, the days with stronger wind and bigger, choppier waves (like Thursday the 20th and Monday the 24th) might look interesting, but for a paddle surfer, it’s a hard pass.

Stay patient, lads. The surf will come back.

Rusty.

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