Crooklets-Bude Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Right, grab a coffee and listen up – Rusty here with the outlook for Crooklets-Bude. Look, I’ll be straight with you: this is a tough one. We’ve got a 16-day window, and for the first week and a half, it’s basically a write-off. The entire stretch from Tuesday 8th September right through to the morning of Friday 18th September is a total bust for surfing. Poor surf conditions day after day. The swell is on and off, but the wind is a nightmare – cross-on, onshore, choppy, lumpy… you name it. It’s just not happening.

Now, if you’re a kiter, that early period with strong winds and some sizeable swell might look interesting. We’re talking swell up to 6 ft on Tuesday with a NNW wind at 16 mph and combined wave energy of (505) – that’s solid energy. But for paddling? Forget it. The wind state is written all over it: fresh cross-onshore and lumpy.

Things finally start to turn on Saturday morning, 19th September. That’s the standout moment in this entire outlook. The wind swings offshore from the east at a gentle 9 mph, and the conditions clean right up. We’ve got a clean, gentle offshore breeze and swell running at 2 ft from the west with a 10-second period and combined energy of (117). It’s small, but it’s *clean*. For the first time in days, you’ll get a proper wave face. And because Crooklets (Bude) faces west and the optimum swell direction is west, that little 2 ft westerly is actually well-aligned for the break. It’s a beginner-friendly spot, fairly consistent, and on a clean Saturday morning like that, the “often” crowd rating means you’re likely to have company. But with good conditions after such a long dry spell, you won’t mind sharing.

After that little window, it goes quiet again until Monday 21st September. The Monday morning and afternoon session picks up a bit more size – 3 ft with that lovely offshore wind, an 11-second period, and (164) energy. The shape will be better with that longer period, but it’s still small. The real potential, however, is on Wednesday 23rd September. That morning we see a 3 ft swell from the west at 13 seconds – that’s a proper groundswell – with a fresh offshore east wind at 19 mph. Combined energy hits (329). It’s clean, it’s got power, and the offshore wind will hold it up. That period over 11 seconds is going to give it some punch, and if it’s a reef or point wave format, look out. Crooklets is a beach break, so with long-period swell it might wall up a bit straight, but with offshore wind it’ll still be fun. Personally, I’d mark that morning as the best of the whole outlook. It’s a long-range call though – Wednesday is nine days away – so keep an eye on the forecast.

Bottom line: we suffer through a whole lot of nothing, get a brief clean but small session on Saturday 19th, then Monday and especially Wednesday 23rd look promising but are far out. Water temp is 65°F – that’s 4°F warmer than normal for early September, so it’s noticeably warm for a Bude autumn.

Rusty.

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