Crantock Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, let me take a hard look at what’s shaking for Crantock over the next couple of weeks.

First thing’s first, I’ll be straight with you: it’s a rough start. The first real surfable window is a long way off, so we’re looking at a good solid ten days or so with hardly anything worth paddling out for. A few small windows pop up towards the end, but you’ve gotta be patient.

Right now, Friday the 4th of September kicks off with a 7ft swell from the west, but that 16 mph cross-on wind from the WNW is just tearing it to bits. Choppy, messy, poor conditions. That theme pretty much holds through the weekend, even when Saturday morning (5th) has a cleaner-looking 5ft west swell with 11-second period (some decent groundswell shape in there), the wind is still cross-on and light, so you get ripples on the face. The combined energy sits at 552 (moderate) but the score is a 1 out of 10. It’s a pass.

Sunday the 6th drops right off. Only 2ft on offer and that’s with offshore wind from the SE, which is clean, but there’s just not enough water moving. Combined energy of 85 (weak). It’s basically flat.

Then Monday the 7th sees a proper pulse: 8ft from the west, a very long 13-second period, and combined energy hits 1912 (strong to very strong). That’s a serious amount of power. But here’s the killer—16 mph cross-on from the WNW again, and the report says poor surf conditions. The quality is ruined by wind. Through the week it stays rough, even with the swell staying chunky. Tuesday the 8th has 8ft from the WNW, too big for beginners at over 8ft, and with a 19 mph onshore wind, that’s expert-only if anyone’s even out there. Combined energy is 933 (moderate to strong). Not recommended for paddling. Honestly, this whole stretch (7th to 11th September) with those big swells and onshore winds would be far more interesting for a kite surfer than a regular surfer.

The first true standout, and I mean the only one that gets me a little excited, comes on Wednesday the 16th of September. It’s a long way off, so take it with a pinch of salt, but the early morning session is looking like the best bet. We’ve got swell from the west at 4ft, a solid 11-second period for good lines (longer gaps between sets, easy paddling), but the real magic is the wind: glassy. Dead calm. Combined energy is 328 (moderate). It’s not huge, but surfable waves with very ordinary conditions is the note, and I’ll take that over the rest. This break is a river mouth, sheltered from the west swell direction, and the optimum swell for it is from the west, so that’s a perfect match. Crowds are listed as ‘often’ at Crantock, so expect company. But for clean, glassy waves with a bit of groundswell push, this is the highlight.

After that, Thursday the 17th drops back into cross-on wind and smaller surf. Then Friday the 18th and Saturday the 19th see a tiny uptick: 3ft from the west, 9-second period, with light offshore or glassy conditions again. Those are your other two windows – small, but clean. Combined energy around 160 (weak). Not a standout, but if you’re desperate for a gentle longboard session, those are your afternoons.

The water temperature anomaly isn’t mentioned in the data for Crantock, so I can’t tell you if it’s warmer or colder than usual for this time of year. Sorry, mate.

So the overall picture? A long stretch of poor, windy, messy surf. Then one promising, glassy morning on Wednesday the 16th with a nice west swell. After that, small but clean options. Not a classic run, but that mid-September window is worth marking.

Rusty.

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