Etretat Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s cookin’ for our slice of coast. I gotta be straight with you—it’s a rough stretch ahead. We’ve got a solid 16 days on the calendar, but honestly, this is gonna be one of those quiet spells where the ocean just doesn’t want to cooperate for us.

Looking at the whole picture, there’s hardly a wave worth paddling for. The first real chance of anything with a bit of push comes right at the end, around Monday, 21 July. Until then, we’re looking at a long, barren run. From now, right through until that Monday morning, it’s mostly tiny surf with poor conditions—onshore winds, choppy mess, and swell heights barely tickling the rocks. There’s a whole lot of days where the score is a flat zero, so don’t bother waxing up.

Now, the only glimmer in this whole outlook is that last day. On Monday morning, 21 July, Etretat finally sees something. We’ve got a swell coming in from the west at 4 ft, with a period of 7 seconds. The combined energy of all swells directed here is moderate at (148), so there’s some push there. The wind is a cross-offshore breeze from the WSW at 16 mph, which should keep things reasonably clean. The water temp is about average for this time of year, nothing weird. But that 7-second period is short-period wind swell—it won’t be the most lined-up wave, and at 4 ft it’s a bit of a handful for beginners, but for anyone with a bit of experience, this is the one session to target out of the whole two weeks. The break itself is a reef setup, so it handles a bit of size, but don’t expect perfection with that short period. Crowds are possible here, so be ready to share.

Outside of that Monday, there’s nothing. The rest of the period is flat or blown out. It’s a tough outlook, but that’s how it goes sometimes. Hang in there.

– Rusty

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