Kilcummin Harbour Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, let’s get into it. Kilcummin Harbour is our only spot on the radar here, and it’s a reef break that needs a solid NNW swell to get going. We’ve got a bit of a slow start, but there’s something to work for if you’re patient. The water temperature is about average for this time of year, so nothing wild there.

We’re looking at a bit of a wait. The first few days are pretty grim – Friday the 14th and Saturday the 15th have weak, messy, cross-onshore junk with combined energy in the low hundreds (125), so not worth paddling out for. Sunday the 16th morning cleans up a little with a gentle offshore breeze from the SSE, but the swell is tiny at 0.9m from the NW with a short period, so it’s more of a longboard cruise than anything exciting. The combined energy is only 116, so you’ll be scratching for waves. Monday the 17th is similar, with clean conditions but very ordinary waves around 1.0m.

Now, Tuesday the 18th morning is where it starts to get interesting. We’ve got a clean 1.4m swell from the west with an offshore breeze, combined energy up to 249. The score is good, and it’s our first real chance for a decent session. The afternoon goes weird though – the swell jumps to 2.5m from the WNW with a very long period of 13 seconds, and combined energy rockets to 2451. That’s a lot of power, but it’s onshore and the rating is only marginal. That kind of long-period groundswell can break a bit too straight at a reef unless it lines up perfectly, so keep that in mind. It’s more for experienced surfers who know the place.

Wednesday the 19th keeps the big stuff rolling with 3.0m to 3.5m from the WNW, but the wind gets strong – 30 to 40 km/h cross-off. The combined energy is still huge (2216 and 1922), but those winds will make it a battle to get out and the waves will be lumpy. This is proper big-wave territory, not for the faint of heart. Thursday the 20th is even worse with strong cross-onshore winds and 3.0m to 3.5m, turning it into a choppy mess. Honestly, that setup looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing.

After that, we hit a dry spell. From Friday the 21st all the way through to Tuesday the 26th, it’s mostly poor surf with onshore winds, tiny swell, and combined energy dropping as low as 36. Not worth your time. There’s a small spike on Tuesday the 25th afternoon with 2.1m from the west and energy of 865, but the wind is onshore and the rating is marginal, so it’s a miss.

The standout window actually comes later, on Thursday the 27th. The morning shows 1.5m from the NW, clean with a moderate offshore breeze from the SSE, and combined energy of 505. The forecast says “very good surf conditions.” The afternoon holds up too, with 1.6m from the NW, light offshore wind, and energy of 443. This is the best on offer – clean, solid groundswell, and the reef should handle that long-period energy well. Crowds are only sometimes an issue here, so you might have a few friends out, but it won’t be a zoo.

Friday the 28th and Saturday the 29th drop back into poor conditions with cross-onshore winds and messy surf, so don’t bother with them.

Bottom line: The first real highlight is Tuesday the 18th morning for a clean, modest session. The big winner is Thursday the 27th – both morning and afternoon are solid, clean, and worth a paddle out. Everything else is either too small, too windy, or too gnarly for the average surfer.

Rusty.

Read more