Crooklets-Bude Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, let’s have a look at what’s on offer for Bude over the next couple of weeks. I’ll be straight with you – it’s a pretty bleak start, no two ways about it.

The first week is a write-off for any decent surf. From Friday 7th August right through until the morning of Tuesday 12th, we’re looking at flat, weak junk. Swell heights are barely a ripple at 0.7ft to 1.0ft, combined energy is down in the teens or single digits, and the winds are all over the place, mostly onshore or cross. There’s just nothing to get excited about. You’d be better off cleaning the wax off your board.

Then, on Wednesday 12th August, we finally see a pulse of life. The morning session at Crooklets-Bude shows a bump to 3ft from the west, with a period of 10 seconds and combined energy hitting 123 (moderate). That’s not huge, but it’s surfable, and the wind is light and offshore from the SE, keeping it clean. The catch? The afternoon goes onshore again, so it’s a real early-bird window. This spot is a beginner-friendly beach break that’s fairly consistent, and with an offshore wind like that, it’ll be the cleanest it’s been all week. The water temp is about average for the time of year, nothing unusual.

We get a few more days of messy, onshore slop through the rest of that week, with the swell slowly building. By Saturday 15th August, the morning goes glassy with WSW winds, but the swell is only 2ft and energy is low at 63 – it’s pretty weak.

The only real standout window comes on Monday 17th August. The morning shows a solid 6ft swell from the west-northwest, with combined energy at 303 – that’s a moderate to strong pulse. The period is short at 7 seconds, so it’s windswell, not a clean groundswell, but the wind is light and straight onshore from the west. That’s a lot of water moving for a beach break, and it’s going to be a bit of a washing machine for the average punter. Over 5ft, this is getting into expert territory, and with onshore wind, it’ll be lumpy. For the experienced crew on a bigger board, there might be some punchy closeouts.

After that, the wind picks up again, and we’re looking at a lot of choppy, onshore junk right through to the end of the forecast on Saturday 22nd August. The swell gets up to 8ft on Friday 21st, but with a screaming 22 mph SSW wind, that’s just a messy, blown-out mess. That’s kite-surfing conditions, not paddle surfing.

Summary: If you’re desperate, be on the water at dawn on Wednesday 12th August for a clean, small wave. The best of the size comes on Monday 17th August, but it’s for experts only in lumpy conditions. The rest of the 16 days is pretty average.

Rusty.

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