Crantock Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, grab a coffee and settle in, because the next couple of weeks here at Crantock are looking like a real mixed bag of frustration and fleeting promise. For the most part, we're going to be staring at pretty ordinary conditions, with only a couple of genuine windows where you might want to get your feet wet.

First up, we're kicking off from Monday, 31st of August. The swell is there at 8ft from the west, but it's getting hammered by a strong onshore breeze. The water is running a touch warmer than normal at 65°, which is nice, but with that wind, it's a write-off. We've got a serious gap of poor conditions all the way through to the end of the week. The energy is all over the place, with a moderate 1029 reading on Monday, dropping and rising again, but the wind is just relentless. Wednesday, 2nd September, sees a clean morning with a 4ft west-southwest swell and a cross-offshore wind, but the period is short at 6 seconds and the energy is weak at 95, so it's not really doing much for us.

The whole first week is a bit of a ghost town, really. The wind is either onshore, cross-shore, or just too strong, and the quality is poor. We get a bit of a pulse on Friday, 4th September, with a 7ft west swell and 606 energy, but again, onshore wind ruins it. The water temperature anomaly is not recorded for most of this, but it feels like we're just waiting.

Then, finally, a glimmer of hope. On Saturday, 5th September, we see a proper shift. The morning is crisp and clear, with a light offshore breeze from the southeast and a 4ft west swell. The energy is a modest 201, but the conditions are clean. The real standout is Saturday afternoon. The wind goes glassy, from the east-southeast at just 3 mph, and we have a clean 3ft west swell with 177 energy. It's not going to be massive, but it'll be tidy and clean. Crantock is a river break, sheltered and exposed to the west, so a 3ft west swell with glassy conditions is about as good as it gets for this spot. It's a beginner-friendly wave, so if you're just getting into it, this is your window. The crowds here can be often, so get there early.

After that, the bottom falls out again. Sunday and Monday, 6th and 7th September, see the swell drop to 2ft and 2ft, and the wind is either offshore or cross, but there's just no wave energy to work with – readings of 44 and 60. The following week is a real struggle. We get a spike in swell on Wednesday, 9th September, with a 7ft west swell and 730 energy, but it's a cross-onshore, lumpy mess. Thursday, 10th September, is even worse, with a near gale cross-onshore wind at 37 mph, blowing out a 7ft swell. That's more of a windsurfing or kitesurfing setup than a surf day.

The rest of the second week is a slow death. The swell fades and the wind stays messy. We get a tiny pulse on Sunday, 13th September, with a fresh offshore and a 4ft northeast swell, but the period is a weak 6 seconds and the energy is a paltry 71. Not worth the paddle. The final days, up to Tuesday, 15th September, are essentially flat or blown out, with a very long period swell (13 seconds) on the 15th but just 0.7ft of it – a tease.

So, to sum it up: the first week is a write-off. The best on offer is the glassy Saturday afternoon, 5th September, with a clean 3ft west swell. It's a small, clean, beginner-friendly day. Otherwise, it's a long wait for nothing much. For a river break, the longer-period swells later in the forecast would be better suited to a point or reef, but with no size, it doesn't matter.

Rusty.

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