Croyde Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s cookin’ for the Croyde area over the next couple of weeks.

Right off the bat, I gotta be straight with you: this 16-day window is a rough one. There’s a long stretch of messy, wind-blown surf that’s just not worth paddling out for. The first solid run of days is totally dominated by strong onshore and cross-onshore winds, with moderate to fresh breezes, and the swell is mostly short-period, weak stuff. The combined wave energy starts off weak (116) and stays pretty disappointing for the first week. The water temperature is sitting at 67°, which is much warmer than normal for this time of year, a solid 5° above average – that’s a real standout for the wetsuit decision, but it doesn’t make the waves any better.

From Saturday the 29th through to Friday the 5th of September, it’s a real write-off. You’ve got cross-shore winds, lumpy conditions, rain showers, and onshore winds that just tear the surface apart. The swell heights do climb to 8 ft on Monday the 31st, but with a short period of 8 seconds and a strong onshore wind, that’s just a washing machine – only for the hardcore, and even then it’s not pretty. The energy on that Monday hits 1016, so there’s plenty of power, but it’s messy power.

Saturday the 6th of September offers a slight glimmer. The afternoon shows a marginal surf forecast with a 5 ft WSW swell, only a light cross-onshore breeze, and the first hint of improvement. But don’t get too excited yet – it’s still just marginal.

Now, the real standout is Monday morning, the 7th of September. This is the one to circle on your calendar. Croyde will be firing with a 6 ft swell from the west, with a nice 10-second period. The wind is glassy, from the NNE at just 3 mph. That’s about as clean as it gets. The energy is solid at 612, and the wave comment says “expect very good surf conditions.” This is the best in the whole forecast. The only downside is that Croyde is often crowded, and on a good day like this, you can bet it’ll be busy. But for the quality on offer, it’s worth the company.

After that, things drop off again. The rest of the week shows smaller swell, and the wind swings back onshore or cross-shore, with only a few days of moderate offshore wind on Wednesday the 9th. That Wednesday gives you clean, offshore conditions but only small, weak waves (4 ft, 6-second period, energy 112). It’s surfable, but nothing special.

The second week is a real letdown. From Thursday the 10th through Sunday the 13th, it’s all small, weak, and wind-blown. Swell heights drop below 3 ft, periods are short, and the wind is strong and onshore. The energy is barely registering. There’s one long-period swell on Sunday the 13th (15 seconds, 1 ft), but that’s just a whisper of energy from afar, and it’s getting hammered by a 25 mph onshore wind. Not worth it.

So, the bottom line: if you’ve got the patience, wait for Monday morning, the 7th of September. That’s your window. Everything else is either blown out or too small. The whole stretch from now until then is a miss, and after that, it’s a long, quiet run. This is a tough forecast for the area.

Rusty.

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