Kimmeridge Bay Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s cooking for Kimmeridge Bay over the next couple of weeks.

Right off the bat, I gotta be straight with you – this is a tough stretch. We’re looking at a long, frustrating gap with no real surf to get excited about until the very end of the forecast. The water is sitting at 69°F which is a massive 7°F warmer than usual for this time of year – that’s seriously unusual, almost like a warm bath, but it won’t make up for the lack of waves.

For the next week and a half, it’s pretty much a write-off. The swell is tiny, short period, and the wind is almost always onshore or cross-shore, chopping everything up. There’s a pulse of energy coming through on Friday the 28th of August with a 8ft SW swell, but the wind is all over the place and the surf is just marginal. The combined energy hits 539 (moderate), but it’s not worth paddling out for. The wind goes from onshore to cross-shore, and the whole thing just looks messy.

Saturday the 29th of August sees a bigger 10ft SW swell, but the wind is howling onshore at 22-25 mph. That’s kite-surfing territory, not for a paddle. The energy is strong (928), but it’s blown out and lumpy. That theme continues right through the first week of September – plenty of swell energy, but the wind never lets up. It’s a constant battle of fresh to strong breezes, cross-onshore, and lumpy, messy conditions. We get a few cleaner moments on Wednesday the 2nd of September afternoon with a cross-offshore wind, but the swell is a weak 5ft from the SW and the energy is only 145 (weak). Not enough to get the heart racing.

The real standout, and the only one I’d mark on the calendar, is the morning of Saturday the 5th of September. It’s still a way off, so don’t hold me to it, but it’s promising. We’ve got a 8ft SW groundswell, with a period of 7 seconds, and the wind is a clean cross-offshore from the NW. The combined energy is a solid 795 (moderate to strong). Now, that’s a big swell – over 8ft – so it’s for experienced surfers only. The period is a bit short, so it won’t be the most powerful, but with clean conditions, Kimmeridge Bay (reef) should actually offer some decent shaped waves. The reef exposure is fair and the optimum swell direction is SW, so it’s pointing right at us. The afternoon is also clean with an 8ft swell, but the scores are a bit lower. Still, the Saturday morning is the window.

After that, it fades out again. The following Monday morning (7th September) has a very long period 13-second swell from the WSW, but the wind is a strong cross-shore breeze and the swell is only 3ft. The energy is 261 (weak to moderate). A long period groundswell at a reef like Kimmeridge can be magical, but there’s just not enough size to make it work with that wind.

Bottom line: It’s a barren run for nearly two weeks. The only real chance to get wet is the morning of Saturday the 5th of September. If you’re an expert and you can wait, that’s your window. The rest of the time, it’s a rough, windy mess.

Rusty.

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