Folkestone Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let’s talk about what’s on offer for the next couple of weeks, but I’ll be straight with you: it’s a grim stretch. We’ve got a solid 16-day window ahead, and honestly, there’s hardly a wave worth paddling for. The whole forecast is littered with blanks and poor surf conditions, so you’ll be waiting a long while.

The first tiny blip of potential comes on Friday the 24th of July, but at the only spot in the frame, Folkestone, it’s barely a ripple. Friday morning sees a tiny 1 ft of south-west swell with a shocking 2-second period – that’s just wind slop, not a wave. The cross-off breeze from the west at 10 mph will keep the surface clean, but there’s no energy behind it, only a combined swell energy of (1). The water is a whopping 68°, which is much warmer than normal for this time of year, so at least it’ll be a nice float. Friday afternoon isn't any better, with a small 1 ft bump but messy cross-shore wind.

We roll into Saturday the 25th and the wave height sits at zero, with no swell to speak of until a tiny pulse on Sunday the 26th, which also offers nothing. Monday morning the 27th brings a tiny 0.7 ft waist-high slosh out of the WSWest with a 6-second period, still not enough to get excited about. The wind is light and cross-off, so it’s clean, but the combined energy is only (4). This pattern of tiny, weak swells and dead periods continues day after day.

There is no standout window here. The best you might see is on Sunday the 2nd of August, when a 2 ft south-west swell appears in the afternoon, and the cross-off wind from the west-southwest at 15 mph should clean it up. The combined energy bumps up to a mere (15), but that's still feeble. The swell direction matches the break’s optimum (southwest), but the size is lackluster for an intermediate break. It’s an inconsistent spot, and even then, a 2 ft wave with that wind is barely rideable.

For the rest of the run, we see a few days with nothing – big zeros on the chart – and then on the 5th of August we get the biggest pulse of the entire period: 4 ft out of the southwest on Wednesday afternoon, but with a 5-second period. The wind is a strong cross-off at 25 mph. The combined energy (76) is the highest we see, but that short period means it's a choppy, messy mess. For an intermediate break, this is not good; the cross-shore wind and short period will make it a battle. The spot is sheltered, but with those conditions, it's a no-go.

In short, we have a big flat gap from the start, and even when there's something, it’s poor. The break is rarely consistent, and this run proves it. Honestly, if you’re looking at the beach setup here with that strong wind and small weak swell, it might be more interesting for the kite surfers than for us paddle surfers. You’re better off waiting for a proper system to roll through.

Keep your board waxed and your hopes low for now.

- Rusty

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