Irmas/Leftpoint Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s cookin’ for Irmas/Leftpoint over the next couple of weeks.

Straight up, I gotta be honest with you – the next week and a half is lookin’ pretty grim. We’ve got a solid run of poor surf conditions from Tuesday the 25th of August all the way through to the end of the month. The wind is a big part of the problem. It’s blowin’ fresh from the ENE, mostly cross or cross-onshore, at 18 to 25 mph, which is gonna leave the surface all lumpy and messy. The swell is comin’ from the east, mainly short-period stuff around 7 seconds, with heights between 5 ft and 7 ft. It’s just not gonna be any fun out there. The combined wave energy is moderate, sitting in the 500-700 range, but that doesn’t help when the wind is wreckin’ it.

We do get a little break in the pattern on the 2nd of September. The wind backs off a touch to a moderate 12 mph, but it’s still cross-shore, and the swell switches to a long-period S swell at 16 seconds. The heights are small, around 3 ft to 3 ft, with moderate energy (636-784). It’s still a marginal call at best – not exactly a day to get excited about.

Now, here’s where it gets interesting. The real standout, the one to put a circle on your calendar, is Thursday the 3rd of September into the morning. For the first time in the outlook, we get a light onshore breeze from the ESE at just 3 mph. That’s almost glassy. The swell is a clean 4 ft from the east, with a solid 13-second period. That’s proper groundswell energy, and the combined energy is a solid 907. This is the best window we’ve got by a long shot. The water temperature is a warm 81°, which is about normal for this time of year. Irmas is a reef break, so that long-period swell will wrap in nicely here. The only downer is that crowds are possible, so get in early.

After that, we’re back into a bit of a messy pattern. The weekend of the 5th and 6th of September sees the swell size bump up to 7 ft to 7 ft from the ENE, with a mixed period of 7 to 12 seconds. The wind is moderate cross-shore, so the conditions are still marginal. The energy builds to strong levels, hitting 1084 and then 1668-1843 on the Sunday, but the cross-shore wind keeps it from being a clean, epic day. Waves over 7 ft are getting chunky – this is expert territory, especially with that cross-shore chop.

Into the second week, the 7th and 8th of September keep the same story: 5 ft to 6 ft ENE swell with a 12-second period, moderate cross-shore wind, and energy in the 1100 to 1500 range. It’s marginal, but nowhere near the quality of that Thursday morning. The 9th of September brings a fresh cross-onshore and lumpy 8 ft swell, which is a hard pass.

So, the long and short of it: if you can wait, the best surf on offer is the morning of Thursday the 3rd of September. It’s not a massive swell, but the light winds and long-period groundswell will make it a clean, rewarding session at Irmas. The rest of the window is a battle with the wind.

Rusty.

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