Fistral-South Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, it’s Rusty here, and I’ve been staring at the charts for Fistral South for the next couple of weeks, and I’ve got to be straight with you. It’s a bit of a grim picture for a while.

The next stretch, through the 14th, is mostly a write-off. We’ve got swell, sure, but the wind is just junk, mostly onshore and cross-onshore, chopping everything up. The water’s a touch warmer than normal for this time of year here, coming in at about 65°F, which is nice, but the surf isn’t. It’s a real shame because there’s some moderate energy kicking around in that first week, with readings in the 600s and 300s (combined energy), but it’s just messy. For the most part, you’d be fighting the whitewash more than catching a clean one. The wave heights get up to 7ft on Tuesday the 8th, but with that 35 km/h NW wind on it, it’s not doing anyone any favors.

There’s a brief blip on the 10th with a cross-off breeze and a clean look, but the swell is small and the period is short, so it's not worth getting too excited about. That stretch of rubbish runs right through to the 14th.

Then, a glimmer of hope. We finally get a proper window on Tuesday, September 15th. The wind swings around to a light offshore, blowing from the SE, and the water cleans right up. The swell is still on the small side, around 3ft to 4ft, with a 10-11 second period, but it’ll be glassy and surfable. This is your one true chance for a proper, clean surf this week, but it’s not a monster. This is the standout of the first week, and let’s be honest, it’s because everything else is so bad.

After that, we drop right back off into the doldrums. From the 16th through the 22nd, it’s mostly small and wind-blown, a real flat patch. There’s a fleeting moment on the morning of Saturday the 19th where it goes glassy with a 3ft swell, but it’s weak and disappears quickly. Honestly, that period is so poor that from the 16th to the 22nd, you might just want to wax a different board.

Now, looking way out to Wednesday, September 23rd, the charts are showing some promise. We’ve got a bigger, longer-period swell building in from the WNW. The period jumps up to 13-14 seconds, and the energy readings are back up into the 440s (combined energy), which suggests some real push behind it. The problem is the wind is forecast to be onshore. Still, a long-period groundswell like that, even with a bit of bump, is a much more interesting prospect than anything else in this window. This could be the best day of the whole outlook, but it's a week away, so we’ll have to see how it plays out. It’s a promising but less certain one, you know?

To be honest, for a stretch that long, there’s a whole lot of nothing. With a northwesterly wind and a beach setup, this looks like it might be more interesting for the kite crew than us paddle surfers for much of the time. Keep your chin up; it tends not to stay this bad for long.

Rusty, out.

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