Magheraroarty Strand Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, folks, Rusty here with the outlook for our stretch of the coast. I've got my eye on one main spot over the next couple of weeks, and honestly, it's a tale of two extremes. This is a quiet period with some seriously big, messy swell on the way, followed by a couple of days that look too big for comfort.

We’ll be looking at Magheraroarty Strand here, a point break that’s usually a beginner-friendly spot. The water is sitting at 61°, which is a touch warmer than usual for this time of year – a bit of a surprise, but a welcome one.

Right now, and through this weekend, it’s a write-off. We’ve got tiny, weak swell with not much energy behind it. The combined swell energy is down around 40 to 45, just a whisper. It’s bumpy and cross-on, with no real push. A total non-starter for a paddle. We’re looking at a gap of about three days with nothing worth wetting a wetsuit for.

Things start to get interesting from Monday the 31st of August, but it’s not good news. The wind goes cross-shore and we see a jump in swell height to 4 ft from the WNW, with a period of 6 seconds. The combined energy climbs to 159, which is moderate, but the quality is shot. It’s a lumpy, cross-chop mess.

Tuesday the 1st of September serves up a proper pulse. Swell jumps to 5 ft from the west, with a period now up to 8 seconds and the combined energy hitting 323. That’s a moderate, building swell. But the wind is howling and it’s a full-on cross-shore slop. The wave comment says it all: poor surf conditions.

We get a small window on Wednesday the 2nd of September. The swell eases a little to 5 ft from the NNW, and the wind swings SE at 10 km/h, blowing cross-offshore and making it clean. The period is a nice 9 seconds, giving the waves a bit of shape. The combined energy is 341, so there’s some push there. It’s only a "marginal" outlook, but if you’re desperate, the morning might offer a few clean, if a little mushy, lines.

Then, hold onto your boardies. From Thursday the 3rd of September, it gets wild. The swell jumps massively. Thursday morning has 8 ft at 10 seconds, and Thursday afternoon hits 10 ft at 10 seconds. The combined energy goes through the roof into the thousands – 1449 and then 1723. That’s strong wave energy. But the wind is screaming at 40 km/h, on the cross, and the surface is a messy cross-chop. This is not beginner territory; at over 8 ft, it’s expert-only, and even then, it’s a battle.

Friday the 4th of September is even bigger with 13 ft to 16 ft swell from the WNW. The period stretches to 12 seconds, a proper groundswell. The combined energy is through the roof, hitting 4630 and then a massive 7378. This is very strong, powerful energy. With the wind howling cross-onshore, this setup at a beachy point is honestly looking more interesting for kite surfers than paddle surfers. It’s not on for a standard surfer.

The standout window, if you can call it that, is the morning of Saturday the 5th of September. The swell has dropped back to a still-sizable 10 ft from the WNW at 11 seconds. But crucially, the wind goes light and variable from the SE at 10 km/h, making for a glassy, clean surface. The combined energy is still huge at 1979. The files are saying this is too big for this break. At 10 ft with that kind of energy, even with clean conditions, it’s going to be a foaming, washing-machine shorebreak. This is only for the most experienced and well-equipped watermen and women, and it’s a major caveat.

After that, it all falls away very quickly. The rest of the window from Sunday the 6th of September onwards is back to tiny, weak, and wind-affected surf with combined energies dropping back into the double digits. There’s nothing else to recommend.

So, the best on offer is the clean window on the morning of Saturday the 5th of September, but only if you are an expert and know this break well because it will be heavy and huge. For everyone else, this is a 16-day period that is best spent looking at the charts and waiting for the next one. The long-range pulse on the 8th and 9th of September looks promising, with an 18 ft pulse and a very long 12-second period, but again with strong onshore winds, it’s a kite-surfing scenario, not a paddling one.

Stay safe out there.

Rusty.

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