Freshwater West Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, grab your wettie and let’s take a long, hard look at Freshwater West. This is a tough stretch to call, because the next 16 days are a real mixed bag of almost-but-not-quite.

Right off the bat, we’ve got nothing but small, weak surf for the first week. The water temp is sitting at 61°F, which is a touch warmer than normal for this time of year, so the chill won't bite as hard.

Tuesday the 7th through to Thursday the 10th are a write-off. We’re looking at tiny waves—1 ft to 1 ft—with weak energy (45 or less). The wind is all over the place, and conditions are mostly poor. Thursday morning the 9th goes glassy for a minute, but there’s no swell to work with. It’s a frustrating start.

Friday morning the 10th is the first flicker of hope. The swell picks up to a mere 2 ft from the west, with a clean offshore breeze (NE at 3 mph). The energy is still low (69), but it's the cleanest the wave will look all week. It’s surfable, but just barely. It'll be a gut check session.

Then from Saturday the 11th right through to Thursday the 17th, we get a run of tiny, weak swells that never break 1 ft. The energy drops into the low teens and twenties. Even when the wind turns offshore on the 12th and 13th, the swell is so small (0.3 ft to 0.7 ft) there’s nothing to ride. A 16-second period on the 12th means long gaps between sets, but when they’re only 0.3 ft, you’re just floating.

The second week is a little more promising, but only just. From Friday the 18th to Tuesday the 22nd, the swell height starts to nudge up—1 ft to 3 ft—but the period drops off hard (5 to 7 seconds). That’s chopped-up, weak, windswell junk. The wind is mostly onshore or cross-onshore, so it’s going to be lumpy and messy. The combined energy stays weak, between 15 and 44.

The best bet in this whole miserable outlook is Tuesday morning the 22nd. Wait, no—that’s 0.3 ft. Scratch that. Honestly, there is no standout in this 16-day window. The best session on offer is Friday morning the 10th, with that 2 ft west swell and clean conditions. It’s not going to be good, but it’s the least bad. For a beginner, it’s small enough to be safe, but the quality is so ordinary you’ll be scratching for rides.

Crowds can pop up at Freshwater West, especially on a clean day, but with waves this small, I wouldn't worry about a crowd. It’s more likely to be empty.

Given the persistent small swell, poor surf quality, and the strong cross-off winds we see on the 14th and 15th, this setup honestly looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddling. If you have a kite, you might get something out of those breezy afternoons.

So yeah, it’s a lean stretch. Often these quiet runs don’t last forever in this area, so keep an eye on the forecasts. But for the next 16 days, bring a book.

Rusty.

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