Lynmouth Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, let's talk in feet and miles per hour. I'm Rusty, and for Lynmouth, it's a pretty bleak 16-day picture. We're looking at a whole lot of flat spells and onshore junk.

The swell is tiny. We kick off on Tuesday afternoon with a 0.6ft west swell, and it barely gets a pulse going. The wind is mostly a problem, swinging from cross-off to cross and cross-on, keeping things choppy. The water is a warm 67°, which is much warmer than usual for this time of year, but that's the only highlight. The combined swell energy is weak, barely cracking 34 (34 units) on the best of the early days, and often sitting in the single digits.

There's a gap of basically nothing worth mentioning from the 11th all the way through to the 25th of August. You'll see a few moments where the swell height nudges up to 2ft, but the period is short, the wind is wrong, and the "poor surf conditions" tag tells you everything. On the 12th, we have a 1ft swell from the WSW with a 10-second period, but a 16 mph cross-shore wind makes a mess of it. The 13th sees a 2ft swell, but again, the wind is on it. A few glassy mornings pop up, like the 16th and the 18th, but the swell is so small—1.0ft and 2ft respectively—you'd be lucky to get a ripple.

Then, right at the very end of the forecast, on Wednesday the 26th of August, things finally change. The wind goes light and clean. Wednesday morning brings a 4ft west swell with a 6-second period and a light ESE cross-off breeze. The energy finally shows up at 156 (156 units). It's described as "surfable waves but very ordinary conditions," which is a step up from "poor." Then Wednesday afternoon, we get glassy conditions with a 6ft west swell, an 8-second period, and a massive jump in energy to 320 (320 units). That's the one to keep an eye on.

Now, the standout is clearly that Wednesday afternoon on the 26th. The 6ft swell is the biggest we've seen, and with glassy conditions, it's going to be clean. But, I gotta be straight with you. Lynmouth is an advanced, inconsistent point and river break that's sheltered from the WNW swell. It's also a spot that's *often* crowded. For a 6ft wave, that's a solid size, and with the period only being 8 seconds, it's not the long-period groundswell you'd dream of. The size is getting up there, so it's not for the beginners. It's the best on offer, but it's a promise with a lot of caveats so far out.

For the rest of the time, just don't bother. The setup with the wind and small swell is more interesting for the kite surfers than for us paddle surfers. It's a long, dry run, but that's how it goes sometimes around here.

Rusty.

Read more