Kimmeridge Bay Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Look, I’ve gotta be straight with you – the next 16 days at Kimmeridge Bay are a tough pill to swallow. This stretch of coast is looking flat, weak, and mostly unrideable. We’ve got a long run of nothing worthwhile ahead, so don’t be fooled by the calendar. The first few days are a dead loss, and the pattern doesn’t really improve until we’re well into the second week, and even then, it’s slim pickings.

We start off on Thursday the 13th of August with tiny, messy swell – only 1ft from the southwest, period around 9 seconds, but the wind is a cross-onshore from the ESE at 9 mph, so it’s choppy and junky. Combined energy is a pathetic 30 – that’s weak as dishwater. Water temps are a notable 69°F, which is much warmer than normal for this time of year, but that’s about the only thing out of the ordinary. Friday the 14th isn’t any better – a 0.7ft to 2ft dribble with winds swinging around. Saturday and Sunday the 15th and 16th barely register a pulse; the energy drops to single digits some sessions. The entire first week is a washout.

There’s a slight lift on Tuesday the 18th of August, with swell bumping up to 4ft from the WSW, but the period is only 5 seconds – that’s short-period wind slop. Combined energy reaches 67, still weak, and the wind is a fresh cross-shore at 19 mph, making for lumpy, choppy conditions. This isn’t surfable in a meaningful way. Wednesday the 19th offers 2ft in the morning with a cross-offshore breeze, but the energy is only 24 – it’s clean but so weak it’s not worth paddling out for.

The standout, if you can call it that, comes very late in the outlook. On Friday the 28th of August morning, we see a 2ft WSW swell with a 6-second period and a cross-offshore breeze from the NE at 25 mph – that’s a strong breeze, but it’s holding the waves clean. Combined energy is 35, which is still low. For this break, that’s about as good as it gets in this window. Realistically, it’s tiny and blown-out on the closeout, but a dedicated local might find a crumbly left on the reef if the wind stays true. Given the direction is WSW and the optimum for Kimmeridge Bay is SW, it’s not a perfect match. Crowds are “often,” so expect a few others out there waiting for the same scraps. This spot is “very consistent” in general, but it’s a reef break that needs a proper swell to work – with nothing on the table, don’t get your hopes up.

For the rest of the second week, from the 21st to the 27th of August, you’re looking at 0.3ft to 3ft slop with cross-onshore winds and combined energy under 50. It’s a blank run, plain and simple. Kimmeridge Bay is a reef setup that faces southwest, and when the swell is this weak and short-period, even the cleanest offshore wind can’t save it. The setup looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing on the few days with stronger breeze.

Keep an eye on the forecasts – it tends not to stay poor for long here, but for now, leave the boards in the car.

Rusty.

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