Belle Ile - Les Donnants Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here, let's take a look at what's on offer for Belle Ile – Les Donnants. This is a river mouth, exposed to the west, but the next couple of weeks are a proper grind.

We kick off on Monday, September 7th, and it's a no-go. That afternoon brings a 6ft swell from the west with a 13-second period, so there's some grunt in the water (combined energy 946), but with a 12 mph onshore westerly wind, it's just a mess.

Tuesday the 8th is a total washout. The swell jumps to 8ft in the morning from the WSW, period 11 seconds, and a huge energy reading over 1200, but it's howling 34 mph from the southwest, a near gale cross-onshore, completely blown to bits. The afternoon stays big and ugly.

Wednesday the 9th drops a bit to a 5ft morning swell, still cross-onshore, so choppy and not worth the effort.

Honestly, the first real window doesn't open until Thursday morning, the 10th. The swell is tiny, only 2ft from the WNW, energy is weak (110), but the wind finally goes offshore from the ESE at 12 mph. It's glassy clean. Problem is, the swell is just too small to get excited about. Good for a longboard if you're itching.

The rest of the first week and into the second is a real battle. We get a few clean moments like Friday morning the 11th and Saturday morning the 12th with light offshore or cross-offshore breezes, but the swell stays stubbornly below 3ft. Sunday morning the 13th sees a 3ft swell with a longer 13-second period, giving it some shape, but the wind is cross-onshore again – just frustrating.

The standout for the whole 16 days is Monday morning the 14th. We get a dead-calm, glassy wind from the east at just 3 mph, with a 2ft WNW swell. It's clean, clean, clean. The waves are tiny, combined energy only 158, but that river mouth setup with a glassy surface could be a fun little session on the foamie. It's the only truly clean window you'll get.

After that, it's back to the slog. We see a bump in size again on September 16th with a 5ft WNW swell and moderate energy (439), but it's all cross-shore and choppy. September 17th has a clean morning, but the swell is a pathetic 3ft.

From September 18th right through to the 22nd, it's the same grim story: small waves, 1ft to 3ft, and almost always with an onshore or cross-onshore wind. Many days have a fresh to strong breeze, making it lumpy and messy.

Bottom line: this is a bleak 16 days. There's no standout quality session. The only real "surfable" window is that glassy Monday morning the 14th, but it's tiny. For a beginner or someone stoked on knee-high clean waves, that's your shot. For everyone else, this stretch is a total dud. With the constant onshore wind and small swell, it honestly looks more promising for kiteboarding than paddle surfing for most of this run.

Rusty.

Read more