Hourtin Plage Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s on offer for Hourtin Plage over the next couple of weeks.

Honestly, it’s a bit of a rough stretch ahead. Right now, we’re looking at a long gap with no real surf to get excited about. The first bit of action worth mentioning doesn’t really kick in until Saturday morning, the 22nd of August. Even then, it’s not much to write home about.

Saturday morning, the 22nd, we’ve got a small 3 ft swell rolling in from the WNW. The wind is light and offshore from the east, which is a solid positive – that’s going to keep things clean. The combined energy is only moderate (137), so it’s not packing much punch. The period is 9 seconds, so it’s a little short-period swell, not a groundswell. It’s surfable, but very ordinary. The rest of the weekend and into the next week is a write-off: tiny, onshore, messy, or just plain poor. There’s a gap from Saturday afternoon right through to Wednesday morning, the 26th of August, with nothing worth paddling out for.

Wednesday morning, the 26th, offers a little hope. The wind is offshore from the east again, light, and the swell is a tiny 3 ft from the west, with a short 7-second period. The combined energy is weak (76). It’s clean, but it’s barely a ripple. Thursday the 27th looks bigger, with a 5 ft W swell building, but the wind is onshore from the WSW, making it a mess. By Thursday afternoon, the swell jumps to 8 ft from the west, with the wind howling onshore at 22 mph. The combined energy is strong (658), but the wind is just ruining it. That’s a kite-surfing kind of day, not a paddle-surfing one.

The pattern keeps repeating: a pulse of swell, but always onshore wind. Friday the 28th, Saturday the 29th, Sunday the 30th – all onshore, all messy, with swell heights around 5 ft to 7 ft. The water temperature is sitting at 76°F, which is much warmer than normal for this time of year – a full 5°F above average. That’s a notable anomaly.

Looking further out, into the first week of September, the story doesn’t change much. The best chance might be Sunday morning, the 30th of August, with a 5 ft swell from the west and a light cross-shore wind from the south. The combined energy is moderate (305), and the period is 8 seconds. It’s marginal, but it’s the cleanest option in a long stretch of poor conditions. By Thursday the 3rd of September, we see another pulse of bigger swell – 8 ft to 8 ft from the west – but again, onshore winds and stormy conditions. That’s expert-only territory, and even then, it’s messy.

The standout window, if you can call it that, is the Saturday morning of the 22nd of August. It’s the only time the wind is truly offshore, and the swell, while small, is rideable. The break is a consistent, exposed beach break, so it doesn’t need much to show. Crowds are sometimes a factor here, so you might have some company. If you’re desperate, that’s your window.

Otherwise, this is a long, frustrating run of onshore wind and poor surf. The forecasts can change, but for now, it’s a waiting game.

Rusty.

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