Belle Ile - Les Donnants Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright friends, Rusty here. Let's get into what Belle Ile – Les Donnants is cooking up for the next couple of weeks.

To be honest, it's a pretty bleak start. For the first week and a half, there's just nothing to get excited about. The swell is flat, barely a foot high, with combined wave energy that's weak and never gets going. The water is sitting at 71°, which is a massive 7° warmer than usual for this time of year, but you can't enjoy a warm bath without any waves.

We're looking at a long stretch of nothing. The first real sign of a pulse doesn't come until Saturday, July 26th, but it's a messy 3ft windswell with a short period and onshore wind. Not worth your time.

The pattern finally shifts around Monday, July 28th. The swell starts to build, but the wind is foul. You'll see 4ft to 5ft of swell, but it's all onshore wind and rising energy. It's a blown-out, choppy mess.

Now, pin your ears back. The only window worth talking about is Wednesday, July 30th, through to Thursday, July 31st. This is the big one. On Wednesday morning, the swell hits 5ft from the WNW with a very long period of 12 seconds. That's proper groundswell, and the energy reading is a solid 674. The wind is cross-onshore, which isn't perfect, but it's a lot better than what we've had. This is the kind of swell that will wrap around the river mouth and offer some real shape. By Wednesday afternoon, it jumps to 8ft, and with onshore winds, that's for the experienced crew only.

The real standout, and the only true highlight, is Thursday, July 31st. The morning session is for experts only. We're looking at a massive 12ft of swell from the WNW with a long period (11 seconds) and the energy reading is a staggering 2700. That's a huge amount of power. The wind is still onshore, which keeps it from being a perfect day, but for a spot that's been dead for two weeks, this is a proper, heavy groundswell event. It's going to be a big, powerful, and challenging day at the river mouth. The afternoon eases slightly to 10ft, but still with strong onshore wind.

After that, it drops off quickly. Friday, August 1st, offers a slightly cleaner 6ft in the morning with a cross-shore wind, which is the only glimmer of a clean wave in the whole run, but the energy is still high at 671. It's a marginal, tricky window.

So, here's the deal: the first two weeks are a washout. Save your energy for the last few days of July. Wednesday, July 30th is the start of the action, but Thursday, July 31st is the big one – a massive, long-period groundswell hitting the coast. It’s going to be a wild, heavy, and expert-only affair with the onshore wind, but it’s the only real surf we’re going to see in this forecast.

Rusty.

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