Etretat Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here, with a look at what’s coming our way over the next couple of weeks.

First up, the water is sitting at a very warm 69°, which is a whopping 6° warmer than normal for this time of year. That's seriously unusual – it feels like you’re surfing in a bath.

Right now, there just isn’t much to get excited about. The surf is limp and the conditions are flat-out ordinary. We’re looking at a long stretch of small, weak waves with a side-shore wind that’s messing things up. For most of the coming days, the wave energy is low, often dropping below a hundred (like 166 or 78), and that’s just not enough to get the heart pumping.

The first tiny blip of something happens on Monday, 1st September, with knee-high waves in the morning. The wind is cross-offshore but it’s a gentle breeze, so it might be clean, but we’re talking about 2ft to 2ft of 9-second swell. It’s really just a chance to get a wet paddle in.

We hit the first notable pulse on the morning of Thursday, 3rd September. The swell jumps to 4ft from the west, with the combined energy pushing up to 137. The wind is offshore from the WSW at 19 mph, so it’s going to be pretty clean. It’s still not a classic by any means, but if you’re desperate for a surf this is the first window worth a look.

The biggest swell comes through on Friday, 4th September. We see 7ft from the west-northwest with a period of 7 seconds, and the energy really fires up to around 350. The problem is the wind is a fresh cross-offshore breeze, blowing at 19-22 mph. It’s not going to be pretty. For a beginner, that’s going to feel big and messy. For anyone else, it’s going to be a battle against the wind. Honestly, with that much wind and a beach set-up, this looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing.

After that, the forecast turns into a real wasteland. From the 5th of September right through to the 14th, we’re looking at nothing but tiny, weak surf. Most days have wave heights under 1ft and combined swell energy barely hits double digits. The winds are all over the place, mostly onshore or cross-onshore and sometimes strong. There are no standouts in this period at all.

It’s a pretty demoralising outlook. The only spot we’re tracking is Etretat, a reef break that’s consistent. But with this forecast, even consistency doesn’t help. The best bet is to keep an eye on that Thursday 3rd September window for a clean-ish, small session. The bigger Friday 4th September swell is there, but the wind will ruin it.

Hang in there.

Rusty.

Read more