Hourtin Plage Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let's talk about what we've got on the cards for the region ahead. It's a pretty bleak picture overall, to be honest. There are going to be some long gaps where there’s nothing worth paddling out for.

Looking at the whole forecast period, it’s a case of very low energy, short-period swell for the most part. The wave heights are tiny, and the winds are nearly always messy—onshore or cross-shore, chopping things up. The water temp is running a whopping 7°F warmer than usual for this time of year, which is seriously unusual. You won't need a spring suit, that's for sure.

The first real stretch is nearly two weeks of poor to non-existent conditions. From Thursday 16th July through to Sunday 26th July, the wave energy is weak—we’re talking combined energy numbers barely breaking three digits, often down in the teens and twenties (10 to 54). The small swell heights, mostly between 6 inches and 3 feet, and with short periods of 4 to 8 seconds, are just not going to deliver anything. Winds are predominantly onshore or cross-onshore, making it messy. The one slightly cleaner morning is Sunday 19th July with a cross-offshore breeze, but with an 8-inch WNW swell at 8 seconds, it’s barely a ripple. There’s just no surfable quality.

We finally get a bump in size around Sunday 26th July. The morning shows a 5-foot swell from the W, with a period of 6 seconds and combined energy at 176. That’s moderate energy but the period is short, so the waves will be fat and weak. The wind is cross-shore from the NNW, light, but it’s still messy.

Monday 27th July morning is the closest thing to a standout in this entire outlook. The swell drops a bit to 4 feet from the W at 7 seconds, but the energy is still moderate at 146. The big difference is the wind: a light offshore from the SSE, which means the surf should be clean. The report says it’s surfable but very ordinary. That’s the best we get, and it’s a low bar.

After that, the morning of Tuesday 28th July offers a tiny window of glassy conditions with a light WSW breeze and a 2-foot W swell at 8 seconds. The energy is weak at 75, so it’ll be delicate, but you might find a clean little wave if you’re desperate and have a longboard.

That’s about it. The rest of the week following falls back into the same pattern: poor conditions with choppy, onshore winds and tiny swell. For a place as consistent as Hourtin Plage usually is, this is a rough run. It’s more of a summer windswell washout than anything else. Honestly, with those strong cross-shore winds and a beach break setup, the conditions look more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing on most days.

So, if you’re after the best of a bad bunch, your window is the morning of Monday 27th July. It’s clean but the waves will be average. Don't book time off work for it.

Rusty.

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