Belle Ile - Les Donnants Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s talk about what’s heading our way for Belle Ile - Les Donnants. This is a river break that’s consistent and exposed to the SW, so it needs a decent swell to get going. The water is sitting at 67°F, which is a touch warmer than normal for this time of year.

Right now, we’re looking at a bit of a slow start. The first solid window of opportunity doesn’t arrive until the weekend. The real standout to get excited about is Saturday, 5th September. We’ve got a building WNW swell, 5ft with a nice long period of 12 seconds, pushing moderate wave energy (539). The morning is the pick with a gentle offshore breeze from the East, making for clean, lined-up waves. By the afternoon, the wind drops to glassy, flat calm, and the swell is still a solid 4ft with a 13-second period (506 energy). That’s going to be a beautiful, clean session. This is the best on offer, no question.

Saturday morning, the wind is offshore, and the swell is solid. That’s your window.

Sunday morning, 6th September is worth a mention. The swell drops to 3ft with a 10-second period, but there’s a moderate offshore wind from the East that keeps things clean (146 energy). It’s a smaller option, but it’s surfable. The afternoon goes cross-on and choppy, so don’t bother.

After that, the forecast gets messy. We hit a long stretch of poor conditions. From Monday the 7th through to the 11th, it’s onshore wind and poor surf quality. The swell gets a bit bigger on Monday, hitting 5ft to 6ft (964-1032 energy), but it’s all onshore, bumpy, and not worth paddling out for. The rest of the week is a write-off.

There’s a glimmer of hope on Saturday, 12th September. The morning session has a gentle offshore from the ENE again, with 3ft of WNW swell at 10 seconds (225 energy). It’s not the size of the weekend before, but it’ll be clean. The afternoon goes onshore again.

The second week looks pretty grim. From Sunday the 13th onward, the swell stays small, mostly under 3ft, and the wind is either cross-off, onshore, or just wrong. There’s a bit of a punchy swell on the 17th and 18th, with 5ft to 5ft (410-450 energy), but the wind is cross-off and strong, making it choppy. The only good news is that the water is clean, but it’s not surfing weather. The period on the 15th spikes to 14 seconds, but with only 1.0ft to 1ft of swell, it’s just a ripple.

So, to sum it up: your best bet is this coming Saturday, the 5th. The morning is the standout, with offshores and a solid long-period swell. Sunday morning is a smaller backup. After that, it’s a long wait until the 12th for another clean morning, but it’s much smaller. The rest of the 16 days is a bust.

Rusty.

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