Gwithian Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let’s break down what’s on offer for this coast. It’s a frustrating window. The first few days are tiny, then we get a decent pulse of energy, but the wind just kills it. You’ll have to be patient and pick your moments.

Right now, into Sunday the 23rd, it’s small. We’ve got tiny 1.3ft waves coming from the SW with a 14-second period, but that’s about the only good part. The wind is cross-off from the E at 9 mph, keeping things clean. The water’s sitting at 63°, which is bang on average for the time of year. The energy is weak, only reading 81, so you’re not going to get much push. It’s surfable but very ordinary.

Come Monday the 24th, the wind cranks up from the east—up to 25 mph—blowing straight offshore. The swell drops even more to 1ft. It’s clean as a whistle but nearly impossible to paddle into. That continues into Tuesday the 25th with similar offshore winds and a 1.6ft swell from the WNW. Still not worth suiting up.

Things start to look a bit more interesting from Wednesday the 26th onward, but the wind switches. We get a bump in size Thursday the 27th morning, with 5.9ft swell from the SW, but it’s short period at 7 seconds, and the wind is a messy cross-shore. By Thursday afternoon, it drops to 4.9ft but the wind goes cross-off from the south, so it’s a bit cleaner, and the energy is moderate at 577. Still, that’s only a marginal call.

Friday the 28th morning looks like a sneaky chance. Swell is 3ft from the WSW, period is 8 seconds, and we get a cross-off wind from the NE at 12 mph. It’s clean, and the energy is moderate at 310. It won’t be firing, but if you’re desperate, it’s the best the morning has to offer. Friday afternoon and the whole weekend go downhill fast. Friday afternoon sees a 6.9ft WSW swell but with a cross-on NW wind at 16 mph that makes it choppy.

The weekend of the 29th and 30th is a write-off for surf. Saturday the 29th has a big 9.8ft swell from the west, but it’s accompanied by a howling cross-on wind from the WSW at 19 mph. The energy is strong at 1143, but the conditions are lumpy and messy. This is more of a kite-surfing setup than a paddle-surfing one. Sunday the 30th is much the same, with 7.5ft swell and strong west winds.

The start of September sees the swell drop right back. Monday the 31st of August has tiny 2.3ft waves that get smaller through the day. Tuesday the 1st of September is glassy in the morning with a 1ft swell, but it’s too small to do anything with. Wednesday the 2nd has fresh offshore wind from the ESE at 19 mph, but the swell is a pathetic 0.7ft with a very long 16-second period. That kind of period can mean good shape on a point break or reef, but there’s just no height to work with.

Now, we need to look at the long-range, around the 4th of September and beyond. This is where a big slug of west swell shows up, but with terrible wind. Thursday the 4th of September morning sees a 9.8ft swell from the WSW, with a 9-second period and a cross-on southwesterly wind at 12 mph. The energy is very strong at 1402, but the conditions are choppy. Not a good combo. Friday the 5th and into the second week is more of the same, with plenty of size—8.2ft to 14.8ft—but always with onshore or cross-onshore wind. Even into Monday the 7th of September we see a massive 14.8ft swell from the west with a very long 17-second period, but it’s blown out by strong onshore WNW winds at 28 mph. The energy reading is a wild 12346, but that’s a big, dangerous, messy ocean for experts only, and even then it’s not going to be pretty.

To be straight with you, the standout in this entire 16-day run is probably Gwithian itself on Thursday morning, the 28th of August. It’s not big, but it’s the most rideable. A 3ft SW swell, 8-second period, with a cross-off NE breeze. It’ll be clean, and you’ll find a few fun ones if you’re not picky. The only other window is Friday the 28th afternoon, though that’s more of a gamble.

After that, it’s a long gap of blown-out conditions or flat spells. The waves are either too small with a strong offshore, or too big with an onshore wind. For a beginner, anything over 5ft in this forecast comes with poor wind, so steer clear of the bigger days. For a confident surfer, maybe the 4th of September afternoon shows a 7.5ft swell and lighter winds, but it

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