Etretat Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s cookin’ for Etretat over the next couple of weeks.

Right off the bat, I gotta be straight with ya – it’s a tough stretch. The first few days are a total bust. We’re lookin’ at a long, dry spell with hardly a ripple worth paddling for. From Thursday the 30th of July right through to Monday the 4th of August, the swell is tiny, the wind is messy, and the scores are flat zero. You’d be better off waxing your board and just staring at the horizon.

Then, finally, on Tuesday the 4th of August, we get a tiny flicker of hope. The morning shows a 3.6ft swell from the north, with a light offshore breeze from the WSW at 15 mph. The ocean’s gonna be clean. But the period is short at 6 seconds, and the combined energy is only moderate at (76). It’s surfable, but very ordinary. The afternoon cleans up a bit more with a cross-offshore breeze, keeping things tidy, with 3.3ft swell from the north.

Honestly, nothing here screams “drop everything and go.” The water temp at Etretat is about average for the time of year, so no surprises there.

After that tease, it’s back to the doldrums. From Wednesday the 5th of August all the way through to Friday the 14th of August, it’s a near-total blank. Swell heights barely break 1.6ft, the wind is either cross-on, onshore, or just plain strong. The combined energy stays weak, mostly in the single or low double digits. A few mornings show clean conditions with offshore or cross-offshore wind, like on Sunday the 9th of August with 1ft from the west, but the swell is just too small to get excited about.

Even when a bit of north-northeast swell pops up on the 3rd and 4th, the period is short and the energy is weak to moderate at best. There’s no standout session in this forecast. The only real highlight is that Tuesday the 4th of August afternoon, which is your best bet, but even then it’s a “maybe if you’re desperate” kind of day. Given the reef setup, the offshore wind on the 4th morning is a plus, and it might hold a bit of shape, but the swell is tiny and the direction isn’t ideal for the spot (optimum is SW for Etretat, and we’re gettin’ north).

If you’re a beginner, the 3ft to 3.6ft days are fine, but the wind is often onshore or cross-on, making it choppy. For the experts, there’s nothing that’ll get your heart racing. This is a classic case of a quiet season – it’s a blank run, but that’s the norm for this area sometimes. Forecasts can change, but right now, it’s a waiting game.

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