Croyde Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Right then, let's talk about what we've got on the horizon for Croyde. It's a bit of a frustrating outlook to be honest. We've got plenty of swell energy kicking around over the next two weeks, some of it proper chunky, but the wind gods aren't playing ball for most of it.

The water's sitting at a warm 67°F, which is way toastier than usual for this time of year—a proper anomaly of nearly 5°F warmer than normal. You'll notice that.

We kick off on Monday, 31st August with some serious grunt—waves hitting 8ft from the west, packing a hefty combined energy of 1048. But it's a write-off. A strong 22 mph north-westerly has got it cross-on and lumpy as hell. That continues through Tuesday and into Wednesday with messy, choppy conditions and short-period wind swell. Not worth paddling out.

Thursday the 3rd and Friday the 4th see the swell holding steady around 6ft to 7ft from the west-southwest, with wave energy really building—up to 495 on Friday afternoon. But again, fresh on or cross-onshore winds are ruining the surface. It's a bumpy, blown-out mess. Saturday the 5th is cleaner skies but still cross-onshore and choppy.

We then hit a real lull. From Sunday the 6th right through to Thursday the 10th of September, it's a mix of tiny, weak swell—often under 3ft, with energy dropping as low as 47—and persistent cross-onshore winds. Not a single decent session in there. On Monday the 7th there's a flash of long-period energy (13 seconds) pushing 4ft and 489 energy, but it's still cross-on and lumpy. So close!

The standout window finally arrives at the very end of the forecast. On Saturday, 12th September, a clean 2ft wave from the west appears, but the big news is the wind. A light 12 mph offshore breeze from the east-northeast. It's small but surfable and clean. Then Sunday the 13th is where it gets interesting. Morning is still clean with a gentle offshore from the east and waves at 2ft. By the afternoon, the swell picks up to a clean 3ft from the west-southwest with a 9-second period and combined energy of 243. The wind is a light cross-offshore from the north-east. That is your best bet of the run—a proper, clean, surfable afternoon. The waves are on the smaller side though, so not one for the heavy crew.

After that, the door slams shut again. Monday the 14th and Tuesday the 15th see a massive spike in energy—over 1000 and up to 1412 on Tuesday—with a solid 10ft swell. But it's accompanied by a strong 28 mph cross-onshore gale. That's a full-on washing machine. Honestly, with that much wind and size, this stretch looks more interesting for the kite crew than for us paddle surfers. Way too dangerous and blown out.

So, in a nutshell: a long, frustrating gap of wind-affected surf until a clean, offshore Sunday the 13th. It's not big, but it'll be the cleanest wave of the whole two weeks. Keep an eye on it, because after that, it looks wild and messy again.

Rusty.

Read more