Croyde Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, let’s break down what’s cookin’ for Croyde. This spot can handle some size, but the wind is gonna be the main character for this whole 16-day stretch, and honestly, it’s a bit of a heartbreaker. The first week is mostly a washout for any decent paddling.

We start on Monday, August 17th, and it’s a mess right away. There’s a little bump of swell around 3ft from the west, but the wind is onshore and cross-onshore, blowing 9 to 15 mph, and it’s choppy. The combined energy is weak (51). Not worth your time. This ugly theme holds through until Thursday, August 20th. The swell builds – we see 5ft on Wednesday, August 19th with a combined energy of 235, but it’s got a fresh onshore breeze at 22 mph. That’s just blown-up, sloppy conditions.

Friday, August 21st, is the first real little hope. The swell drops back to 2ft from the west, with a period of 8 seconds. That’s short-period windswell, nothing special. The key is the wind. Early on we get a light ESE breeze at 6 mph, which is cross-offshore. The report says it’s “clean”. It’s a tiny wave, combined energy of just 76, but for a little window, you might squeeze a fun session on a longboard. After that, the wind swings and it gets messy again through the weekend. Saturday, August 22nd, has a tiny 1.0ft to 1ft swell, clean again in the morning with a NE breeze, but it’s just too small.

Then we hit a real flat spell. From Sunday, August 23rd, through Tuesday, August 25th, the swell is tiny, mostly 1.0ft or less, with weak energy readings (down to 19). It’s dead flat. Don’t bother.

The story shifts on Wednesday, August 26th. A pulse of swell arrives, with 3ft Wednesday morning rising to 8ft by the afternoon. The period is short at 6-8 seconds, and the wind is a strong cross-onshore, 15 to 28 mph. The combined energy jumps to 628, but it’s a washing machine. The report says “poor surf conditions”. This looks way more interesting for kite-surfing than for a clean paddle wave.

Thursday, August 27th, is the biggest swell of the whole forecast. We’re looking at 10ft from the west, with a period of 10 seconds. The combined energy is very strong, hitting 1819 in the morning and 2267 in the afternoon. But – and this is a massive “but” – the wind is cross-onshore from the northwest at 15 mph. That’s gonna be a close-out, messy, and dangerous beast. Only for experts, and even then, it’s gonna be ugly. It’s too big for almost everyone.

After that, the swell drops fast. Friday, August 28th, still has 4ft of swell but the wind is howling onshore at 19 mph. Poor.

The last few days into September don’t offer much relief. The wind is almost always onshore or cross-onshore. There’s a moment on Monday, August 31st, with a 6ft swell from the west, period 7 seconds, and a light cross-shore wind from the SSW at 6 mph. The combined energy is moderate (393), and the report calls it “marginal surf forecast or questionable tide conditions”. It’s the best of a bad bunch, but still no standout.

The Bottom Line: For Croyde in this 16-day window, it’s rough. The complete lack of any good offshore wind is the killer. If you really had to pick a moment, the clean but tiny Friday, August 21st morning, is your only real shot for a grovel on a longboard. The big swell on Thursday, August 27th, is just a messy, dangerous close-out. There ain’t a true standout here. It’s one of those blank runs that happens. The water temp is about average for this time of year. Keep your eyes peeled, forecasts can always change.

Rusty.

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