Le Petit Minou Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, grab a coffee, let’s have a look at what’s coming our way.

Well, I’ll be honest with you – it’s a pretty bleak run for the next couple of weeks around here. We’ve got Le Petit Minou (a beach and point set-up) as the only break in the data, and the forecast is a real mixed bag of onshore winds, lumpy conditions, and only brief, tiny windows of anything clean. The water temp is sitting at 64.8°, which is about average for this time of year, so at least you won’t need a thick wetsuit.

The outlook kicks off on Sunday, 23 August with tiny 1.0 ft swell from the SW and a 14-second period. It’s clean, with a cross-off wind, but the combined energy is weak at just 50. It’s really not worth paddling out for. That afternoon shows a slight increase to 1.6 ft from the WSW with a 11-second period, and the wind turns offshore. It’s surfable but very ordinary – just a one out of ten sort of session.

Monday the 24th is a write-off. The swell drops right off, period plummets to 6 seconds, and winds are messy. The combined energy is a paltry 26 and 31. Tuesday the 25th sees a bump in energy to 124 with 2.0 ft to 2.3 ft from the WNW, but the wind is onshore or cross-onshore. The conditions are just poor – choppy and uninviting.

Wednesday the 26th has a bit more size, 3.3 ft to 4.3 ft from the SSW, but again the period is a short 6 seconds and cross-onshore winds spoil it. The energy is moderate at 136 to 165, but it’s messy. Thursday the 27th gets a bit more serious: 7.2 ft from the SW with a 9-second period, and combined energy jumping to 782 in the morning and 1246 in the afternoon. That’s strong wave energy, but the wind is howling onshore from the SSW at 16 to 19 mph and there are thunderstorms around. This is only for experts, and even then it’s going to be a battle. Definitely not a standout.

Friday the 28th is the biggest day of the whole run. We’ve got 9.8 ft from the WSW in the morning, with 10-second period and a massive combined energy of 3992 – that’s very strong. But the wind is a fresh cross-onshore at 22 mph, making it lumpy and blown out. The afternoon drops to 6.9 ft from the W, still with strong energy at 936, but winds pick up to 28 mph. Honestly, with this setup and the strong onshore winds, this looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing. The same goes for Saturday the 29th – 7.9 ft to 6.6 ft from the WNW, still cross-onshore and lumpy, with energy in the 496 to 839 range.

Sunday the 30th has onshore winds from the SW and SSW, with swell around 4.6 ft to 6.9 ft, but the period is short (6 to 7 seconds) and the conditions are poor. Monday the 31st and Tuesday the 1st of September see the swell dropping back to 2.6 ft to 3.9 ft, with cross to cross-off winds. The combined energy is weak to moderate (126 to 172), but it’s still not clean enough to get excited about.

Wednesday the 2nd of September is a bit of a tease. Clean conditions with cross-off winds from the N and NNW, but the swell is tiny – 2.0 ft from the NW with a short 6-second period and weak energy of 63. It’s surfable but very ordinary.

Now, here’s the only real glimmer in the whole outlook. Thursday the 3rd of September, in the morning. We’ve got 3.0 ft from the NW, with a 9-second period and combined energy of 154. That’s moderate energy. But the standout detail is the wind: glassy. That’s right, glassy conditions. WSW wind at just 3 mph. This is the cleanest window in the whole 16 days, and while it’s not big, it’ll be the best on offer for a patient surfer. The afternoon turns onshore, so make the most of that morning session.

From Friday the 4th of September onwards, it’s back to onshore winds, with swell from the WNW at 3.9 ft to 4.6 ft, moderate energy (220 to 348), but poor conditions. The weekend of the 6th and 7th of September sees a return to bigger swell – 7.2 ft on Sunday the 6th with 600 energy, and 5.6 ft on Monday the 7th with 476 energy, but winds are a severe gale from the WNW at 50 mph on Monday morning. Totally blown out. Again, this is kite surfing territory.

So to sum it up: there’s a long gap of poor to average conditions, with only a couple of brief, clean windows. The best bet is Thursday morning, 3rd of September, when it goes glassy with a small but clean NW swell

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