Harlyn Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, let me look at what we've got here for Harlyn. Pull up a seat.

Right off the bat, I gotta be straight with you: the whole 16-day window is a bit of a downer for surfers. There’s not a single day that really gets the green light for a proper paddle. The scores are all zero, which tells you everything you need to know. The swell energy is weak to moderate at best, with values like 21 (weak) up to 1872 (strong wave energy), but it’s all tied to "poor surf conditions". A lot of the time, the wind is just too strong or from the wrong direction, messing up what little shape the swell has.

Friday, August 28 we're looking at a tiny 1 ft swell from the WNW with a period of 9 seconds, but a fresh breeze at 19 mph is making a mess of it. Not worth getting wet for.

Saturday, August 29 gets a bit more size but it’s ugly. The morning has 5 ft from the SW with a short, weak period of 7 seconds and a near gale wind. That afternoon, it jumps to 11 ft from the WSW, but it’s a strong cross-shore with messy chop. That’s heavy energy (1872), but it’s just a washing machine. That kind of size over 8 ft is expert-only territory anyway, and with the wind, it’s a no-go.

Sunday, August 30 is a little cleaner with cross-off winds, but 5 ft to 7 ft from the west with a 9-second period and moderate energy (473 to 633) just isn’t doing it for me. It’s all "poor surf conditions".

Monday, August 31 we get 10 ft from the west with a 10-second period and strong wave energy (1476), but it’s a fresh cross-onshore wind making it lumpy. Another one for experts only if they’re desperate, but it won’t be good.

We see a bit of a lull in size from Tuesday, September 1 through Wednesday, September 2, with small 3 ft swells and light breezes, but still nothing clean enough.

Thursday, September 3 and Friday, September 4 look like the most interesting swell pulses, but the quality just isn't there. Thursday has 6 ft from the west with an 8-second period and moderate energy (442), and Friday morning even shows a 6 ft west swell with a very long period of 13 seconds and strong energy (1123)! That’s a proper groundswell. But both days are let down by fresh to strong breezes that keep the conditions “poor.” A long-period swell like that, over 11 seconds, would normally be a highlight at a point break or reef, but Harlyn is sheltered and doesn't have the setup to make the most of it, especially with that wind.

The rest of the run into mid-September drops off into small, weak, onshore junk. Swell energy plummets into the double digits (54 to 94), and when it finally builds again on September 9 with 8 ft from the WSW and moderate energy (850), the wind is a fresh breeze. The final kick on September 10 has 10 ft from the WNW with a near gale wind of 31 mph. That’s just dangerous and blown out.

Honestly, for surfers, this is a write-off. The conditions never align. The one potential standout was Friday, September 4th, with that long-period groundswell, but the wind killed it. For the rest, with the combination of significant swell and poor quality, this setup looks more interesting for kite surfing than for a paddle session.

Keep your hopes on the next swell train. Sometimes it stays poor, but forecasts change.

Rusty

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