Gwithian Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, it’s your mate Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s on offer.

First up, the water temp at Gwithian is sitting at 65°, which is a touch warmer than normal for this time of year. Not a huge deal, but it’s nice.

Right, the forecast… Well, to be honest, it’s a pretty grim run for the next couple of weeks. We’ve got a solid 16-day window, but the surf is really struggling. The first few days are surfable but nothing to write home about.

Wednesday morning the 12th of August, Gwithian is your best bet. We’ve got a clean 3 ft swell from the west, with a moderate offshore breeze from the ESE at 16 mph. The swell energy is weak (127), and it’s a beginner-friendly spot, so if you’re just getting started, it’s okay. The afternoon sees a bit of a drop in wind, cross-off from the SSE, but the swell stays small.

From Thursday morning the 13th, things take a dive. The wind swings onshore or cross-onshore, and the swell is small and messy. The energy picks up a bit on Thursday (319), but with NNW wind and poor conditions, it’s not worth paddling out. The rest of that week, right through to the 20th, is a write-off – strong onshore winds, lumpy, choppy, and the swell is either too small or blown out. The 20th of August sees a 7 ft swell from the WNW, but with a strong breeze and messy conditions, that’s expert-only and not clean.

There’s a gap of several days there with no real recommendations. You’d be wasting your time.

Then on the 21st of August, Friday morning, we get a bit of a break. The wind turns light and cross-off from the east at 6 mph, and we’ve got a 4 ft west swell with a period of 8 seconds. The energy is moderate (255), and the conditions are clean. It’s still just “surfable but ordinary,” but it’s the best we’ve seen in a while.

The 22nd of August, Saturday morning, offers a similar story: 2 ft west swell, light cross-off from the NE, clean but small.

From the 23rd of August, we get a weird little pulse from the SW with a long 14-second period, but the swell is tiny at 1.0 ft. That’s not going to do anything at Gwithian.

The 24th of August brings a 5 ft WSW swell, but the wind is cross-onshore again, and it’s choppy.

The rest of the run into the 27th of August is more of the same – onshore winds, messy conditions, and small to moderate swell. There’s no standout day in the second week. The energy values are moderate at best (around 300-325), but the wind is always wrong.

Honestly, for paddle surfing, this is a tough outlook. Gwithian is a consistent spot, but the wind is just not playing ball. If you’re into kite surfing, there’s plenty of wind and some swell, so it might be more interesting for that.

Keep an eye on the 21st of August – that’s your best chance for a clean session, but don’t expect much.

Rusty.

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