Kimmeridge Bay Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Right, let’s get into it for Kimmeridge Bay, mate. It’s a reef setup that’s very consistent, usually pretty exposed to the SW swell, and the optimum direction is straight out of the southwest. But I’ll be honest with you, the next couple of weeks look like a bit of a write-off. The water is sitting at 69° right now, which is a massive 7° warmer than usual for this time of year—that’s very unusual.

We’ve got a big old gap of nothing happening from now until Friday the 28th of August. There’s just no quality on offer, with tiny wave heights, rubbish wind, and all the scores are coming in at zero. The 25th of August sees a bit of a lift with a 5ft swell from the east, but it’s a short-period 6-second wind swell with a messy cross-shore breeze at 19 mph—that’s a write-off for a proper surf.

The first real flicker of hope comes on Friday the 28th of August in the afternoon. We’ve got a 4ft SW groundswell, period 5 seconds, and for once the wind swings around to a light offshore from the NNE at 9 mph. It’s surfable, but the conditions are just ordinary. The swell direction is a bit off the optimum, so it’s not going to be any kind of standout.

After that, it gets messy again. Saturday the 29th brings a 7ft SW swell, but it’s getting hammered by a fresh 22 mph cross-onshore. That kind of power with those winds is just blown out. The weekend of the 30th and 31st is similar—bigger swell, like 7ft on Sunday morning, but the cross-shore winds are strong at 25-28 mph, making it a messy, lumpy mess. At this size and with those winds on a beach-and-reef setup, this looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing.

We then hit another quiet spell from the 31st August through to the 3rd September, with barely any swell and glassy conditions on the 1st of September morning, but only 0.7ft on offer. Totally flat.

The model then hints at a bigger pulse arriving around the 4th and 5th of September, with a SW swell hitting 7ft on Friday the 4th morning. But again, the cross-shore wind is strong at 16 mph, so it’s going to be messy cross-chop. The period is only 6 seconds, so it’s not gathering much real power. The combined swell energy is 374 (moderate), but the wind kills it.

The final kick comes on Monday the 7th of September. We’ve got a solid 10ft SW groundswell with a 9-second period, which is a beefy groundswell. The combined energy is a hefty 1325 (strong). But the curse continues – it’s a strong cross-shore wind at 28 mph, leaving the surface a complete mess. Too big, too windy.

So, overall, there’s no true standout in this 16-day window. The setup with decent swell always gets trashed by the wind. It’s a blank run for us here. If you’re desperate, that little sliver on the 28th afternoon is the best you’ll get, but don’t expect much.

Rusty.

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