Irmas/Leftpoint Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s on the table for Irmas/Leftpoint (reef) over the next 16 days.

To be straight with you, this is a tough stretch. The whole run is marked by moderate to strong cross-shore winds, and the wave state is consistently described as poor surf conditions. It’s a long wait, about a week, before we see any serious size, but the wind never really cleans up. The first few days, from Wednesday the 5th through to about Sunday the 9th of August, we’re looking at small, weak swell—mostly around 1 ft to 4 ft—with fresh easterly winds and a cross-chop that’ll mess up any hope of a clean face. Combined swell energy stays moderate for the first few days (around 400-408), but with that wind, it’s not surfable.

Things start to build Sunday morning on the 9th. Swell hits 7 ft from the ENE with a short period of 7 seconds and combined energy jumps to a strong 689. But again, fresh cross-shore wind and lumpy chop. That pattern holds through the following week: solid, chunky swell between 5 ft and 7 ft, with energy readings often in the strong range (476 to 962), but cross-shore winds never let up. By Wednesday the 12th, we see a long-period groundswell from the S at 18 seconds, with energy peaking at 962, making for a very powerful, clean line—but the wind is still cross or cross-on. That wave is going to barrel down the reef with serious speed, but without offshore conditions, it’s a messy prospect.

As we head into the second week, the wind actually gets stronger. By Friday the 14th, we’re seeing 28 mph cross-shore winds and 3 ft of S swell, with energy still around 695. It’s a mess. Saturday the 15th through Monday the 17th has the biggest surf of the whole period—7 ft to 7 ft from the ENE—but those 25 mph winds will leave it blown out and bumpy. That’s expert-level size, but it’s not going to be any fun.

Water temperature on the 5th August is 80°F with an anomaly of +0.5°F, so pretty average for this time of year, no surprises there.

Honestly, if you’re looking for a standout, there isn’t one. The period is so consistently wind-dominated that nothing pulls clear. The one session that catches my eye is the Wednesday afternoon on the 12th—3 ft S groundswell with an 18-second period (very long period, proper groundswell) and strong energy (962). At a reef break like Irmas, that kind of period will set up some long, racy walls... but the cross-shore breeze will still leave a chop on it. It’s the best of a bad bunch, but I can’t call it a true standout. If you’re an experienced local who knows how to read a choppy reef, you might get some deep barrels, but it’s not for the faint-hearted.

Given the persistent cross-shore wind and increasingly strong breeze, this setup looks more appealing for kite surfing than paddle surfing through most of the period.

Rusty.

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