Croyde Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. We’ve got the full 16-day window for Croyde to look over, and I’ll be straight with you – it’s a tough stretch. There’s a big gap of poor conditions right at the start, so don’t bother suiting up just yet. The first real chance of anything worth talking about doesn’t pop up until we get to the second week. Let’s walk through it.

From late August right through the first few days of September, it’s a write-off. The wind is nearly always onshore or cross-onshore, blowing at 9 to 22 mph, and the swell is either tiny or messy with short periods. The combined wave energy is mostly low, with just 13 on Thursday afternoon 27 August, and while it bumps up to 312 and 568 on Friday and Saturday, the quality is poor. The water temperature is sitting at 67°F, which is much warmer than usual for this time of year – a solid 3°C anomaly, so it feels like an unusual late-summer bath, but the surf is ugly.

We get a slight uptick on Sunday morning 30 August, with a 5ft WSW swell, period up to 9 seconds, and 405 combined energy, but it’s cross-shore wind. Nothing clean. Monday morning 31 August sees a 7ft swell and energy up to 757, but it’s cross-onshore and lumpy. The pattern stays poor through the first week. There’s no standout day in that first week – not even close. It’s all cross-onshore, onshore, or messy with short-period windswell. For beginners, the swell does push over 5ft a few times, but with those winds, it’s not beginner-friendly anyway.

Now, the second week brings one true standout, and it’s a big one – but it’s well out in the forecast, so treat it with a bit of caution. On Monday morning 7 September, we’ve got a serious 12ft swell from the west, with a 9-second period. The combined energy is massive at 1731, which is very strong. The wind is light from the NW at just 6 mph, so it’s a light cross-onshore breeze that should leave the surface fairly clean. But – and this is a big but – this swell is too big for Croyde. The file itself notes it’s predicted to be too big for this break. So while the energy is there, and it would be an absolute sight to see, this is expert territory only. Crowds are likely here anyway, but on a day like that, you’d only want to be in the water if you know what you’re doing. The afternoon of that same day drops to 6ft, with light WNW winds at 3 mph – that’s a much more manageable size, and the combined energy is still decent at 493. The wind is almost glassy, which is a massive positive. The light air and cross-onshore wind state means it won’t be perfect, but with clean conditions, that Monday afternoon might be the only real window for a decent session in the entire 16 days. Right after that, we slide back into poor cross-onshore chop and smaller swell for the rest of the period.

So, bottom line: other than that Monday afternoon 7 September window, this is a long dry spell. The first week has no surf worth paddling out for. It’s frustrating, but for Croyde, a blank run like this isn’t all that unusual when the wind locks in from the wrong direction. Keep an eye on that Monday 7 September – if it comes together, it’s your best shot, and that’s all we’ve got. Keep the stoke, because it won’t stay like this forever.

- Rusty

Read more