Le Petit Minou Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s on the table for Le Petit Minou over the next couple of weeks. Straight up – this one’s a tough pill to swallow. The whole 16-day window from Friday 17 July through to Saturday 1 August is showing nothing but poor surf conditions. Every single session is a zero in terms of quality, so there’s no real wave worth paddling out for.

Le Petit Minou is a beach and point setup that’s usually fairly consistent, so a blank run this long is a bit of a surprise. But it happens – the swell just isn’t lining up with the wind at all. The water’s sitting at 66°F with an anomaly of 3°F, so a touch warmer than average for this time of year, which is a small comfort if you’re just having a swim.

From Friday 17th through Saturday 19th, we’ve got tiny 1-foot swell coming from the west or northwest, periods around 8–9 seconds. Winds are mostly cross-off or offshore, but the swell’s just too weak to form anything rideable – combined wave energy barely hits 15 to 21 (weak). Sunday morning 19th has a fresh offshore breeze from ENE at 18 mph, but with only 1-foot swell from NW, period 8 seconds, it’s not enough to do anything with.

Monday 20th through Wednesday 22nd keep the same story: 0.7-foot to 1-foot west-northwest swell, periods creeping up to 10–12 seconds on Monday morning (longer period, but still too small). Offshore winds continue at times – ENE 15 mph, NE 22 mph – but the energy stays weak (max 44). Clean conditions, yes, but no wave to surf.

Then from Thursday 23rd to Saturday 25th, swell drops even smaller – 0.7-foot to 1-foot, mostly from the west, periods drop back to 5–9 seconds. Winds go cross-off then cross-on with light to moderate breezes. Water’s still clean but utterly flat.

Sunday 26th brings a strong onshore SW wind at 25 mph, but only 1-foot swell – a mess.

Now, late in the period, from Monday 27th July to Wednesday 29th, we finally see some energy pick up: swell jumps to 3–4 feet from the west-northwest, periods of 6–11 seconds. The combined energy hits 192–402, which is moderate to strong. But here’s the kicker – the wind is cross-on from the west at 16–28 mph, making the conditions messy and lumpy. The combination of a beach break with onshore wind and that short period (6–8 seconds on several days) means it’s not going to shape up well for surfing. For experienced kiters, it might look interesting, but for a surfer it’s a write-off.

Thursday 30th and Friday 31st keep onshore WSW winds, swell around 2–2 feet from the northwest, energy fading back to 100–150. Still poor.

Saturday 1st August is more of the same – onshore SW 9–12 mph, 2-foot NW swell, not worth talking about.

So bottom line: no good surf options in this 16-day stretch. Le Petit Minou is usually more reliable, so this kind of dead spell isn’t normal. Forecasts can change – keep an eye out, because it won’t stay flat forever. But for now, save the wax and do something else with your time.

Rusty

Read more