Doolin Point Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let's look at what's on the cards for Doolin Point. To be straight with you, it’s a tough outlook. This is an expert-only reef break, fairly consistent with a west exposure, and it's pulling in some serious swell energy, but the wind is just not playing ball for a long stretch.

Right out of the gate, from Saturday the 25th of July, we’ve got a 6ft WNW swell with a 9-second period, packing a moderate 517 combined energy. The water’s sitting at 62°, which is a touch warmer than usual for this time of year. But the problem is that west wind is howling at 16 mph right onshore, making a mess of things. This pattern sticks with us. Sunday the 26th sees the swell jump to 7ft from the WNW, and while the period ticks up to 10 seconds, it’s still a cross-onshore disaster with a strong 896 combined energy. It’s just lumpy and unsurfable through the end of July.

We get a small reprieve on Friday the 31st of July. The swell drops to a clean-faced 4ft from the west, and we finally see some light cross-offshore winds from the SSE. The combined energy is a modest 191. It’s not firing, but it’s the first window of actual surfable waves in the whole run. It's ordinary, but rideable.

Then we hit a real dry spell. From Saturday the 1st of August all the way through Thursday the 7th of August, the swell gets tiny, and the winds are a nightmare, mostly onshore or cross-onshore. There are days with barely 1ft of swell. This is a full week of nothing worthwhile.

There is a glimmer in the second week, but it's for the hardcore only. Saturday the 8th of August has a pulse of 8ft from the west, and by Sunday the 9th of August, it’s a solid 8ft WNW groundswell with a 10-second period and a very strong combined energy of 990. This is the standout in the entire 16-day outlook. But, and it’s a big but, the wind is forecast to be a fresh cross-onshore from the NW. At over 8ft, this is strictly for experts, and even for them, the wind is going to push it hard. Given the exposed nature of Doolin Point and the strong cross-onshore wind, this setup might actually be more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing, as it’s going to be a bumpy, challenging paddle out.

So, the pick of a poor bunch is the very ordinary Friday the 31st of July for some small, clean waves. The real power shows up on the 8th and 9th of August, but don't count on it being clean. It’s a long-range call, so keep your fingers crossed for a wind shift, but right now, it’s promising but less certain.

Rusty.

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