Belle Ile - Les Donnants Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s get straight into it for our local stretch.

Honestly, I’ve had a good look at the next 16 days and it’s a pretty bleak run for Belle Ile - Les Donnants (France). The river mouth setup here is exposed to the SW, and we’re just not getting much love from the ocean. There’s a long dry spell ahead, with no decent surf on the cards for the whole first week and a half. From Tuesday the 4th right through to Tuesday the 18th, it’s all poor surf conditions – small, weak, messy, and mostly onshore. The combined energy values are mostly in the double digits, which is weak, peaking at just 287 on the 5th, but that’s with onshore winds and a 5ft swell that’s blown out. You’ll see a few mornings with offshore or glassy winds, like Saturday the 8th and Sunday the 9th, but the swell is barely a ripple – 0.7ft to 1ft. It’s just not worth paddling out.

Now, there is one little glimmer. On Wednesday the 19th, the morning session finally shows some promise. We’ve got a 5ft swell rolling in from the WNW, with a clean cross-off breeze from the NNE at 6 mph. That’s the standout, and the only time I’d even consider waxing the board. The combined energy jumps to 359 (moderate), and the wind is light, making for clean conditions. The water temp is sitting at 68°, which is about 1° above the long-term average – pretty normal for this time of year, so no surprises there. The swell direction is straight out of the SW optimum, and the period is 9 seconds, so it’s a short-period swell – not the most powerful, but at this spot, with clean wind, it’ll be rideable. Just keep in mind this is a river mouth, so the shape can be a bit fickle with a short-period groundswell, but it’s the best we’ve got. The afternoon looks poor again as the wind swings onshore, so get your session in early.

Bottom line: 16 days of mostly nothing, with one clean morning on the 19th. Don’t hold your breath, but keep an eye on that date.

Rusty.

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