Fistral-South Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, let’s get into it, folks. Rusty here. We’ve got a long stretch ahead for Fistral-South, but I’m gonna be straight with you – it’s a tough watch for the next week and a half. The whole 16-day window is essentially a write-off for anything decent. The only real glimmer of hope is right at the very tail end, so we’ll get to that.

The biggest problem is that the wind is just cruel. For the first several days, it’s a relentless cross or cross-onshore mess, with moderate to fresh breezes. The swell is there, but it’s short-period windswell, and the energy is weak to moderate – you’re looking at readings between 137 and 394 (moderate energy) on the 4th and 5th, but it’s all ruined by the chop. The water temperature is about average for the time of year, nothing special.

Tuesday the 4th starts with a 4ft SW swell at 7 seconds, but that 16 mph SW cross-wind is just going to tear it apart. The afternoon is worse. Wednesday the 5th sees a bigger bump – 6ft from the W in the morning, with energy jumping to 394, but it’s a fresh cross-onshore howl from the WNW. That’s lumpy, ugly, and not for paddling. The swell is big enough that it’s starting to get too much for beginners, but the quality is so poor it’s unappealing for everyone.

We then drop into a long, flat, weak spell. From Thursday the 6th all the way through to Tuesday the 12th, the swell is tiny – between 1.0ft and 3ft – with periods often under 8 seconds. The energy is pitiful, dropping to as low as 18 (very weak). The only bright spot in that whole stretch is Saturday morning the 8th, when we get a glassy, 1.0ft leftover from the WNW. It’s barely a ripple, but it’s clean. Not worth a paddle, but worth a look if you’re desperate.

There’s a small window of hope on Wednesday morning the 12th. We get a 2ft, 10-second swell from the W, with a light offshore breeze from the SE (6 mph). The energy is still weak at 50, but the text says “clean.” That’s about as good as it gets in this grim run. Still, it’s tiny.

Then we go back into the wind and chop. The 14th and 15th of August are a windy, lumpy mess. The 16th and 17th improve slightly with a 4ft to 4ft W swell and 6-9 second periods, but the wind is still on or cross-shore. The energy is moderate (200) on the 17th morning, but it’s not clean.

Now, for the one true standout. Hold onto your board. On Wednesday morning, the 19th of August, over a week away, we finally get something worth circling. The swell jumps to 7ft from the WNW, with a period of 9 seconds – that’s a solid groundswell. The energy is strong, hitting 603 (strong wave energy). The wind is offshore from the WNW at 9 mph. This is where it gets interesting. This is a big, clean swell for Fistral-South, but that 7ft is pushing into expert territory. It’s going to be a powerful, long-period wave. At a beach break like Fistral, that long period can make the waves break a bit too straight, and it’s going to be a heavy paddle out, but the energy and the clean wind will make for some proper, deep-water barrels for the experienced crew. The swell direction (WNW) is a good match for the spot’s optimum WSW angle. Expect crowds, because it’s the only good day in the whole two weeks.

The rest of the 19th afternoon and into the 20th? The data doesn’t go that far, so we’ll have to see how that swell holds. But the 19th morning is the only real play.

So, to sum it up: a long, painful gap of poor conditions until Wednesday the 19th. That day is the only true standout. If you’re an expert, you’ll be there. For everyone else, it’s a waiting game.

Rusty.

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