Inchydoney Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, let’s break down the surf for the next couple of weeks. To be straight with you, it’s a grim start. The water is running at 66°F, which is about 4°F warmer than the long-term average, so that’s a bit of a surprise – much warmer than normal. But the waves? Flat.

The first time you’ll even see anything worth paddling out for is Friday the 21st of August, and even then it’s just “surfable but very ordinary.” We’re talking a 1ft SSW swell, but with a very long period of 16 seconds, and the combined energy is weak (84). The wind is offshore from the north at 15 mph, so it’s clean, but there’s no push. Saturday morning the 22nd is the same story – 1ft SSW swell, 15-second period, weak energy (82), offshore north wind. It’s a clean little nothing. Then we hit a gap through Saturday afternoon to Monday the 24th as the wind turns onshore.

Things try to pick up on Tuesday the 25th of August with a 5ft SW swell, but the wind is cross-onshore from the southwest, so it’s going to be choppy and messy. The combined energy is moderate (198), but the quality is poor. By Wednesday the 26th, it’s onshore, and you can forget it.

The best chance we’ve got is Thursday the 27th morning. We get a clean offshore north wind at 12 mph and a 4ft south swell, but with a short 6-second period. The combined energy is moderate (136). It’s surfable, but it’s not going to be a classic. Then Friday the 28th morning brings a bigger 7ft SSW swell with a 9-second period, and the combined energy jumps to 656 (strong). That’s a lot of water moving, but the wind is light cross-onshore, so there will be ripples on the face. It’s described as “marginal” due to tide or conditions, so it’s a gamble. That size is for experienced surfers only – beginners stay out of that.

Honestly, the only real standout is Thursday the 27th morning. The offshore wind gives you the cleanest conditions of the whole period, even if the swell is short-period. For the rest of the window, it’s mostly small, weak, or blown out. The long-period swells we see in the first week (15-16 seconds) might break too straight for a river mouth like Inchydoney, so the short-period pulses later on might actually be more fun, even if they’re a bit sloppy.

If you’re into kite surfing, the bigger, windier days like Wednesday the 19th afternoon (5ft WSW, 25 mph cross-shore) or Friday the 28th afternoon (strong cross-shore) will be a lot more interesting than trying to paddle.

Rusty.

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