Crantock Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here, and I'm staring at the same stretch of coast for the next two weeks. Gotta be straight with you – it’s a whole lot of waiting and watching. The first week and a half is full of messy surf and nasty wind. We don’t get a real green light until the very end.

Let’s talk Crantock. It’s a river-mouth spot, sheltered and beginner-friendly, but the conditions are a battle. The swell energy is weak to start, reading between 23 and 131 in the first few days, and the wind is all over the shop. From Monday the 24th afternoon, we’re looking at a tiny 0.2m swell from the WSW with a 13-second period, but that clean look is wrecked by a 30 km/h cross-offshore wind. The water is 65°, which is a touch warmer than usual for this time of year.

Tuesday the 25th and Wednesday the 26th don’t get any better. Swell stays under 2 feet, and even though the wind eases to a light breeze, the surf is just too small and weak. Thursday the 27th afternoon shows a slight bump to 3 feet from the SW with an 8-second period, and light offshore winds. The energy hits 103, just tipping into moderate, and it's called surfable but very ordinary. That’s the first time you could even think about paddling out, but it’s nothing to get excited about.

Then the size picks up but the wind gets worse. Friday the 28th sees the swell jump to 5 feet in the morning and 8 feet in the afternoon, but it’s all cross-onshore wind from the west at 25 km/h, making it choppy. The energy hits 205 then a strong 692, but the quality is poor. The same pattern holds through the weekend and into the start of September. There’s plenty of swell—some days over 7 feet—but the wind is a constant problem: onshore, strong, or blowing across the wave face.

We finally get a glimmer of hope around Saturday the 5th of September. The morning shows an 8-foot swell from the west with a 10-second period, light offshore wind from the NW, and a huge combined energy of 1513 – that’s strong. The wave comment says “marginal surf forecast or questionable tide conditions,” but the wind is finally right, and a bigger swell like that at Crantock could be interesting for experienced surfers. Over 8 feet is expert territory here.

Sunday the 6th of September morning is another decent shout. A 7-foot west swell with a 10-second period, SSE winds at 25 km/h blowing cross-offshore, and energy at 873. That’s moderate to strong energy, and clean conditions.

But the real standout of this whole 16-day window is Crantock on Monday the 7th of September. That afternoon, a monstrous 23-foot swell from the west with a crazy 17-second period rolls in. The combined energy reading is 29596 – absolutely enormous. That long period means it’ll have serious punch, but at a river mouth like Crantock, those long-period waves can break too straight and be tricky. Plus the wind is a strong cross-onshore from the NW at 40 km/h, making it a total mess. This is strictly for the most experienced, and even then, it’s blown out.

Tuesday the 8th of September comes in with a 10-foot west swell and a 13-second period in the morning, energy at 3214, and a gentle cross-onshore breeze. It’s still not clean, but it’s the best we’re going to get after that huge blowout. If I had to pick the best on offer, I’d say the morning of Saturday the 5th of September for the biggest clean-ish swell under light offshore wind, and maybe the morning of Sunday the 6th for a cleaner, more manageable size.

For the rest of the run, it’s a bleak picture. There are long gaps of several days with nothing surfable. The consistency at Crantock is only “fairly consistent” normally, so this blank run isn't a huge surprise, but it still stings. Forecasts can change, but right now, it’s a waiting game.

Rusty.

Read more