Croyde Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let's have a look at what's on offer for the Croyde stretch over the next couple of weeks.

Honestly, for the first week and a half, it's a grim picture. We're looking at a real dry spell. From Saturday the 18th right through to the morning of Friday the 24th, it's a whole lot of nothing. Tiny waves, mostly under 1 ft, and the wind is all over the place – cross-off, cross-on, onshore – but none of it matters because there's simply no swell to work with. The wave energy is pathetic, sitting at single digits (9) and low double digits (13) to begin with. It's a write-off for a paddle.

We finally see a pulse of life start to build on the 25th of July. Saturday afternoon brings a 4 ft swell from the west, but it's getting hammered by a fresh 30 mph cross-onshore breeze, making it lumpy and pretty ugly. The energy is still weak (81), so it's not worth getting excited about.

The first real chance for a surf comes on the morning of Thursday, 30th of July. We've got a 6 ft swell from the west, which is getting into the size range that'll be a bit much for beginners. The period is only 8 seconds, so it's a windswell, not the cleanest groundswell. The wind is a moderate cross-shore from the south, which is passable, and the wave energy is ramping up to a moderate 319. It's still described as "poor surf conditions" though, so it's not a classic.

The standout window, and the only real highlight in this whole 16-day run, is the Thursday afternoon of the 30th of July. That morning's swell drops a touch to 5 ft, but more importantly, the wind swings around to a light, cross-offshore breeze from the SSE. This will clean things up nicely. The wave energy is still a solid 284, and the period is a short 7 seconds from the west. It's a bit of a gamble, but that afternoon has the potential for some clean, albeit short-period, walls. The morning of Friday, 31st of July also looks clean with a fresh cross-offshore breeze from the ENE, but the swell is down to 5 ft and the energy is dropping (183). The afternoon of the 31st is described as "surfable but very ordinary". Given the lack of any other real options, that Thursday afternoon and Friday morning are your best bet for a paddle.

After that, the swell fades away again into the start of August, with small waves and onshore winds returning.

So, to sum it up: it's a tough run. The only real chance to get wet is the tail end of July, specifically the afternoon of the 30th and the morning of the 31st. Keep your expectations in check, but if the wind plays ball, there might be a few clean ones to be found.

Rusty.

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