Irmas/Leftpoint Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let's have a look at what's on the table for the next couple of weeks at our spot.

Alright, straight up, for the foreseeable future, we’re looking at pretty grim conditions. The surf is on offer, you can see the swell in the water, but it’s just completely blown out. There’s a persistent and strong cross-shore wind that’s just destroying the surface. It’s a bit of a cruel joke. You’ll see plenty of swell in the 4 ft range, some bigger days up to 8 ft, and even a couple of solid 12 ft to 13 ft pulses coming in August 15th and 16th, but don’t get your hopes up. The wind is just relentless. There’s a window of hope right at the very end of the period, but let's not get ahead of ourselves.

First up, Thursday afternoon the 13th: We have a 4 ft south swell creeping in on the face of a 25 mph cross-shore wind. It’s messy, it’s choppy, and the combined wave energy is actually pretty high at 951, but it's totally unsurfable. The water temp is sitting at a warm 81°, which is about average for this time of year, but you won’t feel it with all that wind in your face.

Friday the 14th and Saturday the 15th get worse before they get better. We see the swell sizes jump up, with a 8 ft short-period ENE swell on Friday morning (8 secs, combined energy 1051) and then it just pumps up to a raw 12 ft on Saturday morning (combined energy 2314). Wind is a near gale (34 mph) on Saturday, making for a total write-off. Sunday the 16th is still a write-off with storms around and cross-onshore winds.

In fact, from now all the way through the week of the 18th and 19th, it's a constant battle with a moderate to fresh cross-shore wind from the ENE. The swell stays smallish too, mostly between 2 ft and 5 ft, with poor surf conditions across the board. It looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing.

Now, after that long stretch of nothing, things start to look a little more promising at the very end. On Sunday, August 23rd, the wind finally eases to a light breeze. It’s still cross-onshore at 6 mph, but it's a massive improvement. The swell drops right off though, to just a tiny 2 ft, but the period is a nice long 15 seconds from the SSW. The energy is moderate at 409. It’s a marginal call.

But the standout – and I mean the only real standout in this whole 16-day period – looks to be Friday, August 28th during the afternoon at Irmas/Leftpoint. This is our best bet. We’re looking at a 6 ft swell from the east with a cracking 16-second period. That’s long-period groundswell right there, the kind that wraps around and gives you proper shape on a reef setup like this. The wind finally backs off to a manageable 12 mph cross-shore, swinging around to moderate. The combined energy is a solid 2163. It still won't be glassy, but it will be the cleanest we’ve seen in weeks. With a swell this long, the sets will be well-spaced, making the paddle out a bit easier. Just keep in mind this spot can get crowded sometimes, and that’s a long way off, so the forecast is a bit less certain, but it’s the one to circle on your calendar.

Until then, I’d give it a rest. The ocean is in a bad mood.

Rusty.

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