Kilcummin Harbour Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, I’ve looked at the charts for Kilcummin Harbour. Let’s be honest – this 16-day stretch is a grind. You’re gonna have to pick your spots.

We start off Thursday afternoon, August 20th, with a big pulse of north swell – 7ft with a period of 8 seconds, and the wave energy is rating at 801 (moderate). But it’s no good. The wind is howling onshore from the north at 22 mph, just tearing the surface apart. The report calls it "poor surf conditions," and I’m with that. That north wind is right into this reef at Kilcummin Harbour, so leave the stick on the rack.

The north wind sticks on through Friday and Saturday morning, with the waves dropping to almost nothing. Saturday afternoon the 22nd sees a knee-high ripple from the WNW (2ft), but it’s cross-onshore and weak. A waste of time.

Things clean up a bit on Sunday morning the 23rd – a light 6 mph south wind blowing offshore, glassy water. The water temp is a touch warmer than normal for this time of year, sitting at 62°. The problem? Only 1ft of swell. You could go sit out there and enjoy the quiet, but you’re not surfing.

Now, Monday the 24th kicks in with something real. We get 6ft of swell from the WNW (690 energy), with a long 11-second period. The wind comes out of the southeast at 9 mph, blowing cross-offshore – clean, open faces. That’s the best session in the near-term. They call it marginal for tide, so you’ll need to pick the right window, but that’s where the quality is.

From Tuesday the 25th through Thursday the 27th, it’s a long dry patch: messy winds, poor-sized swell. Friday the 28th through Sunday the 30th sees the swell jump back up – even 8ft from the WNW on Saturday the 29th (800 energy) – but the wind is blowing cross to cross-onshore from the WNW, making it all bumpy and choppy. For a reef set-up, that’s just sloppy. With that wind and moderate swell, this spot starts looking more suited for kiteboarding than surfing.

The big long-range highlight lands on Friday, September 4th. That’s two weeks out, so take it with a grain of salt, but the models are showing a proper swell: 10ft to 12ft from the WNW, with a period stretching to 12 seconds. The energy reading is enormous – 3292 (very strong). The wind is cross-offshore from the WSW at 16 to 19 mph, and the report says it will be clean. At that size on this reef, that’s expert-only territory – could be some heavy, hollow waves if it materializes.

So the summary is simple: cleanest near-term window is Monday the 24th of August with 6ft of 11-second groundswell. Long-range look is Friday the 4th of September for a big, clean, expert-only session.

Best bet right now: Monday, August 24th.

Rusty.

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