Surf Forecasts:
Freshwater Bay surf forecast from 18 Jul 2026:
- Most powerful swell: Sunday 19 Jul, 4AM (local time) - 2.5ft (0.8m), 5s period, E swell with 33 kJ wave energy.
Best Forecast Surf Conditions for Freshwater Bay this week:
The most powerful waves expected at Freshwater Bay in the next 16 days are 0.8m 5s and forecast to arrive on Sunday (Jul 19) at 4AM. Winds are predicted to be cross-offshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 0.7m 4s period and expected on Saturday (Jul 18) at 1PM.
| Wave Type | Time (BST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | - | - |
| Best Surf | - | - |
| Most Powerful | 4AM (Sun 19th Jul) | 2.5ft (0.8m) 5s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Freshwater Bay over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Alright, let’s talk in feet and miles per hour for the same stretch. It’s a pretty barren outlook, but there’s one morning that’s got my attention.
The Outlook
We’ve got a long, flat and frustrating stretch ahead at Freshwater Bay (reef and point) here. From now until the end of July, it's mostly flat or tiny, with just ripples or small slop that never really gets going. The combined swell energy is often in the single digits or low tens – that means barely any power at all. The wind is shifty, but even on the clean days there’s just no swell to work with.
The water temp is at 68°, which is a wild 8° warmer than it should be for this time of year. That’s very unusual – you could be in a spring suit or less, but you’d be sitting there staring at a flat ocean.
The one real highlight is Tuesday morning, July 28th. It’s the only time in the whole 16-day run where the conditions come together. We’re looking at a clean, light offshore breeze from the north-northwest and a small but rideable 3ft swell from the west-southwest. The wave energy is a moderate 64 (moderate wave energy), and with a period of 6 seconds, it’s short-period wind swell. It’s not a groundswell, but with that offshore wind grooming the reef, it’ll be the cleanest we’ve seen in over a week. This is the single standout of the period – the only session that got a 'surfable' rating.
Don’t get your hopes up for anything else. The swell stays weak and messy after that. The afternoon of Saturday, July 26th sees about 6ft of swell from the WSW with a moderate energy of 181, but the cross-shore wind makes it a choppy mess. That setup would be more fun on a kite than a surfboard.
Save your energy for the 28th morning. It’s small and not world-class, but after this drought, it’s the only game in town.
- Rusty
Short Range ForecastMostly dry. Warm (max 24°C on Fri night, min 12°C on Sat night). Wind will be generally light. | Days 5-7 Weather SummaryMostly dry. Warm (max 22°C on Wed morning, min 13°C on Wed night). Wind will be generally light. | |||||||||||||||||||
Fri 17 | Saturday 18 | Sunday 19 | Monday 20 | Tuesday 21 | Wednesday 22 | Thursday 23 | ||||||||||||||
PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | |
Swell Height Map |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | |||||||||||||
Wave Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SW 3 | WSW 5 | WSW 4 | SW 5 | E 5 | E 5 | E 4 | W 10 | E 4 | W 12 | W 8 | ENE 3 | W 11 | W 10 | W 10 | WSW 3 | W 10 | ENE 3 | W 9 | W 9 |
Wave Graph  | ||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 2 | 23 | 2 | 1 | 15 | 21 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 1 |
Wind (km/h) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross-on | off | cross-off | cross-on | cross | cross-off | glassy | on | glassy | cross-on | cross-off | cross-off | cross-on | cross-off | off | cross | cross-off | cross-off | cross | cross |
High Tide | 2:10AM2.63m | 2:48PM2.64m | 2:53AM2.50m | 3:30PM2.51m | 3:35AM2.34m | 4:10PM2.36m | 4:17AM2.16m | 4:51PM2.21m | 5:02AM1.99m | 5:33PM2.07m | 5:52AM1.87m | 6:22PM1.97m | ||||||||
Low Tide | 6:57PM0.18m | 7:21AM-0.15m | 7:42PM0.30m | 8:05AM0.03m | 8:29PM0.45m | 8:51AM0.26m | 9:19PM0.62m | 9:41AM0.51m | 10:19PM0.78m | 10:42AM0.73m | 11:36PM0.88m | 12:01PM0.87m | 00:56AM0.87m | |||||||
 |  |  | | | | |  | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
 | — | — | 5:13 | — | — | 5:13 | — | — | 5:15 | — | — | 5:16 | — | — | 5:18 | — | — | 5:18 | — | — |
 | — | 9:10 | — | — | 9:09 | — | — | 9:08 | — | — | 9:07 | — | — | 9:07 | — | — | 9:05 | — | — | 9:04 |
mm | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Temp °C | 22 | 24 | 22 | 23 | 18 | 20 | 21 | 18 | 19 | 19 | 18 | 20 | 19 | 20 | 22 | 22 | 21 | 21 | 21 | 22 |
Feels °C | 17 | 20 | 21 | 21 | 16 | 16 | 19 | 15 | 18 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 14 | 16 | 20 | 21 | 19 | 19 | 16 | 19 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | E 4 | WSW 5 | WSW 4 | E 4 | — | W 7 | E 4 | — | E 4 | E 3 | — | W 8 | E 4 | — | — | W 10 | WSW 3 | W 9 | E 4 | W 9 |
| kJ | 1 | 23 | 2 | 3 | — | 1 | 3 | — | 3 | 1 | — | 1 | 3 | — | — | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | W 8 | W 8 | W 8 | SW 5 | W 7 | — | — | W 7 | — | W 9 | W 8 | W 11 | W 11 | W 10 | — | — | W 10 | — | W 9 | — |
| kJ | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | — | — | 1 | — | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | — | — | 2 | — | 2 | — |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SW 6 | — | — | — | — | — | — | W 10 | — | W 12 | — | — | W 8 | W 7 | W 10 | — | — | — | — | — |
| kJ | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 2 | — | 3 | — | — | 1 | 1 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SW 3 | — | ENE 4 | — | E 5 | E 5 | — | — | — | — | — | ENE 3 | — | WSW 3 | NNW 3 | WSW 3 | — | ENE 3 | SW 2 | WSW 3 |
| kJ | 2 | — | 10 | — | 15 | 21 | — | — | — | — | — | 3 | — | 2 | 2 | 3 | — | 4 | 1 | 2 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | ||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 900 | 481 | 483 | 483 | 215 | 483 | 282 | 236 | 311 | 483 | 216 | 249 | 684 | 356 | 826 | 367 | 196 | 259 | 483 | 303 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Isle of Wight | ||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in United Kingdom | ||||||||||||||||||||
Header Global | ||||||||||||||||||||
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The surf report / weather widget below is available to embed on third party websites free of charge and provides a summary of our Freshwater Bay surf forecast. Simply grab the html code snippet that we provide and paste it into your own site. You can choose your preferred language and metric/imperial units for the surf forecast feed to suit users of your site. Click here to get the code.
Information about the Freshwater Bay Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for Freshwater Bay provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at Freshwater Bay can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our Freshwater Bay surf forecast is unique since it includes wave energy (power) that defines the real feel of the surf rather than just the height or the period. If you surf the same spot (Freshwater Bay) regularly then make a mental note of the wave energy from the surf forecast table each time you go. Very soon you may start to choose your surf days based on the wave energy alone combined with our forecast of favourable offshore wind conditions. Our star ratings will help here and of course you will also find the usual wave height and period predictions on our surf forecasts as well as a full break down of the swell components under our advanced users option (to reveal that, click the little Einstein character under the tide times).
Further information to help with frequently asked questions about our surf forecast for Freshwater Bay may be found under the help tab on the top menu and also by moving your mouse over the question marks on the surf forecast table itself. Please always bear in mind that the forecast is for near-shore open water and local factors at each surf break influence the actual breaking wave height, such as the beach / reef profile, water depths offshore and shelter.
Freshwater Bay is 16 km (10 miles) from Newport. If you plan a holiday in Isle of Wight, look for hotels and other accommodation in Newport. Newport has rooms for a wide range of budgets as well as car hire and transport links.
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