Doolin Point Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Right then, folks, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s on the menu for Doolin Point over the next couple of weeks. I’ll be straight with you – it’s a frustrating picture for the most part. We’ve got a real classic reef setup here, exposed to the west, and it picks up a lot of energy, but the wind just won’t play ball for ages. There’s a long stretch of poor conditions before we finally get a glimmer of something special.

We’re starting off with a bit of a wait. From Thursday the 27th of August right through until the first week of September, it’s a real head-scratcher. The swell is there, but it’s mostly small and weak, with combined swell energy figures mostly in the double digits (like 81) or low hundreds (like 186), and the wind is all over the shop. Cross-off, onshore, cross-on – it’s never settled. The water temperature is about average for the time of year, nothing unusual there.

The first real sign of life comes on Sunday the 30th of August. We get a 3ft west-southwest swell with a 9-second period, delivering a moderate 186 units of combined energy. The morning has a light southeast breeze, keeping it cross-off and clean. The afternoon is even better with a light east-northeast breeze and clean conditions on a 3ft swell. It’s surfable, but the guidance calls it “very ordinary conditions,” so keep your expectations in check. The crowds are often at Doolin Point, so you might have some company for this average session.

The next few days are a write-off again. Strong onshore winds and messy, lumpy conditions dominate. The swell builds but the quality is just not there. You’ll see combined energy figures climb into the mid-hundreds (like 599 on the 2nd of September), but it’s all blown out. By the 4th of September, we’ve got a 5ft west swell with a long 12-second period, giving 624 units of energy, but the wind is a near gale from the southwest. For kite surfers, this kind of setup might be interesting, but for paddle surfing, it’s a no-go.

The standout window finally arrives on Sunday the 6th of September. The afternoon session looks promising. We’ve got an 8ft west swell with a 9-second period, and the combined energy is a solid 1044. The wind swings around to the east-southeast at 19 mph, making it cross-off, and the wave state is clean. That’s a big, clean swell at a world-class reef. At 8ft, this is strictly for experts – it’s too big for beginners. The 9-second period means it’s a shorter-period wind swell, but when it’s this clean and the wind is light, it can still offer some decent walls. The crowds are often here, so expect a peaky lineup.

Then, for the very last day of the forecast, Friday the 11th of September, we get a monster. An 12ft west swell with a 10-second period, and the combined energy goes through the roof at 2553. The wind is a light north-northwesterly, making it a gentle cross-shore with slight cross-chop. The data says the swell is predicted to be too big for this break, and it gets a high score, but that’s a massive, powerful groundswell. At this size, Doolin Point is a big-wave spot for the fearless few. It’s a long-range call, so promising but less certain, but if it fires, it’ll be incredible.

Overall, a long wait for the real action. The first week is a write-off, then we get a window of clean, bigger surf on the 6th of September, and a potentially huge session on the 11th. Keep an eye on the forecasts.

Rusty.

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