Doolin Point Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G'day, I'm Rusty, and I've got the read on Doolin Point for the next couple of weeks. It's a heavy, exposed reef that demands respect, and right now, it's a long wait for any real quality.

The water is sitting at 63°, which is a touch warmer than normal for this time of year, so you won't need the thickest rubber just yet.

Let's be blunt: the first week is a write-off. We're looking at a solid stretch of poor surf conditions from Friday the 14th right through to the end of the following week. The wind is all over the place, mostly cross-on or onshore, and it's chopping up the water. There's a bit of a pulse showing on Tuesday the 18th, with a 6ft swell from the west and a period of 11 seconds, pushing the combined energy up to a moderate 801. But it's arriving with onshore wind, so it's going to be a messy, blown-out affair. Don't bother.

The situation gets a bit wild on Wednesday the 19th. The swell jumps to 10ft (combined energy of 1267) and even 8ft (combined energy of 1314), but it's wrapped in strong onshore wind. That’s big, ugly, and exclusively for the experts, and even then, it won't be pretty. For the average surfer, it's a no-go.

Things do start to get interesting towards the end of the second week. The first real glimmer comes on Friday the 21st of August. The morning shows a light 2ft west-northwest swell, but the wind is a light cross-off from the north. That's clean, and for the first time, we get a description of "surfable waves but very ordinary conditions." At 6 mph, it's a light breeze, so the surface will be clean. The energy is weak at 83, but it's the first window of something ridable.

After that, the wind goes back onshore and the surf drops away, but there's a very promising window on the horizon. Look to Tuesday the 25th of August. Both the morning and afternoon show a 5ft swell from the west with a period of 11 seconds. That's a proper groundswell, carrying a lot of energy – morning registers 583 and afternoon 526, both solid moderate energy. The wind is light and variable, described as cross-on in the morning and onshore in the afternoon, but with a light breeze, it's not going to wreck it. This is your best bet for the whole forecast period. It's a solid, workable size for Doolin Point, and the long period will wrap in nicely.

There's another possible window on Thursday the 27th of August. The morning shows a 4ft west swell, and the wind is glassy from the south-southwest at just 3 mph. That's a rare, clean window. The score is "surfable waves but very ordinary conditions," but the glassy wind is a massive positive. The energy is weak at 185, so it's not a pumping day, but for a quiet paddle, it could be the pick.

Overall, it's a tough outlook. The first week is a total bust. The second week offers a couple of clean windows, with Tuesday the 25th being the standout for size and energy, and Thursday the 27th offering a rare, glassy session. It's a patient man's game right now.

Rusty.

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