Eastbourne Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let's have a look at what we've got cooking for Eastbourne over the next couple of weeks. I'll be straight with you: it's a pretty bleak picture, and the better part of this forecast is mostly about waiting.

The water is currently sitting at a balmy 70°F, which is a massive 7°F warmer than usual for this time of year – that's very unusual and a real treat if you're going for a swim, but for surfing, it's a different story.

Right off the bat, there's nothing for the first several days. We're looking at a run of mostly tiny, weak waves with poor onshore or cross-shore wind. The first real blip on the radar doesn't come until much later. From the 11th through the 22nd of August, the swell is basically nonexistent or junk. You'll see a lot of flat spells and the occasional 0.7ft to 1ft windswell with periods under 8 seconds, which is just not worth paddling out for. The wind is mostly a mess, being cross-onshore or cross, with moderate to fresh breezes making it choppy and lumpy. There are a few brief windows of clean conditions with offshore or cross-offshore wind, especially on the afternoons of the 13th, 14th, and 15th, but with no swell to speak of, those are only good for a kayak. We're looking at combined wave energy values mostly in the single digits – that's weak, flat energy (7, 5, 4). It's a tough stretch.

The only glimmer of hope, and I mean a very distant glimmer, arrives late in the period. On Sunday, the 23rd of August, we finally see some size, but the quality is a major question. The afternoon shows a 4ft swell from the SSW with a short period of 4 seconds, which is windswell. The combined energy jumps to a moderate 44, but that's not saying much. The wind is a fresh 19 mph cross-offshore from the WSW, so it will be clean, but that short period and small size will make for unremarkable, weak waves.

Then, on Monday, the 24th of August, the forecast gets a bit spicy. The morning brings a 7ft swell from the SW with a period of 7 seconds, and combined energy of 398 – that's moderate to strong energy. The wind is a strong 28 mph cross-offshore. In the afternoon, it's 7ft from the SW with a period of 6 seconds and energy of 326, with a near gale cross-offshore wind. This is big, raw, and short period. For the average surfer, 7ft is into expert territory, and with that much wind, it's going to be a beast. Eastbourne is a sheltered spot, and this setup looks way more interesting for kite surfing on the exposed beaches than paddle surfing. The break itself is inconsistent and for beginners, but with this much swell and strong wind, it's a no-go zone for learning.

After that, it looks like it drops off again into tiny, clean surf through the 25th and 26th.

To be brutally honest, there are no standouts here. The only one that even gets a mention is the spike on Monday the 24th of August, but that's a clean, windy, big-wave day for experts only – and even then, the short period windswell won't be classic. For everyone else, this is a 16-day window to look at the calendar, maybe take up fishing, or re-wax the board. It's a long, blank run, but that's not unusual for this area when the conditions aren't aligned.

Rusty.

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