Belle Ile - Les Donnants Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, let’s get into it.

The next 16 days here on Belle Île are a pretty quiet stretch for surf, but there are a couple of little windows where the conditions might just line up for a fun session. Nothing huge, nothing wild – just small, clean waves if you pick your moment.

Let’s start with the best of the lot, which is honestly the only real highlight in the whole forecast. Wednesday morning, July 8th, over at Belle Ile - Les Donnants (river). We’re looking at a small 1 ft swell coming from the WNW with a 10-second period. It’s not going to blow you away, but the wind is light offshore out of the ENE at 9 mph, which means those little waves should be clean and tidy. The combined wave energy is weak (55), but for a beginning-friendly, consistent break, this is the cleanest option we’ve got. The water temperature is sitting at 68°, which is a solid 4° warmer than normal for this time of year – that’s pretty noticeable, so you’re in for a warm paddle.

After that morning, the wind swings around and conditions get messy. Thursday morning, July 9th, there’s a bit more size at 2 ft and the wind is cross-off from the NE at 12 mph, but the models are calling it poor surf. The wave energy ticks up a little to 97 (still weak), but the quality just isn’t there. The same goes for Friday morning, July 10th – 2 ft from the WNW, offshore wind from the east at 9 mph, and the same “very ordinary” vibe. Not worth getting excited about.

Then we hit a proper lull. From Saturday, July 12th, all the way through to the end of the first week, the swell drops right off. Heights fall to 0.7 – 1 ft, the winds get messy, and there’s really nothing to chase. That gap stretches for about 5 days with no real recommendations.

There’s a flicker of something on Saturday morning, July 18th. Swell climbs to 4 ft from the SW, a short 7-second period, but the wind goes glassy – a light SSE breeze at 3 mph. The water should be flat calm, and the combined energy is moderate (133). Still, the models say “surfable but very ordinary,” so it’s marginal at best.

The biggest swell of the run appears on Monday, July 20th, with 6 ft from the WNW, period around 8 seconds, and wave energy climbing into strong territory (486). But the wind is onshore from the west at 3 – 12 mph, and the call is “marginal” or “poor.” For a river break that’s exposed, this much onshore wind just ruins it. The setup actually looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing that day – the wind and swell combo is there, but the wave quality for a surfer is cooked.

After that, it’s back to small, weak, and wind-affected for the rest of the forecast.

So, bottom line: if you really need a paddle, aim for the morning of July 8th. After that, it’s a long wait for very ordinary conditions. Keep an eye on the forecasts – sometimes things shift, but right now, it’s a lean run for Belle Île.

Rusty.

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