Magheraroarty Strand Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Right, grab a coffee and listen up. I’m Rusty, and I’m looking at the charts for the next couple of weeks. Gotta say, we’re in for a wild ride, but you’ll need to pick your moments carefully.

The overall pattern is simple: there’s a lot of swell, and I mean a *lot*, but most of it is going to be too big and messy for our main spot, Magheraroarty Strand, especially for the average punter. We’ve got a run of days with no real surf to start, then a window that’s promising, but it’s mostly for the experienced crew.

The first real chance of anything decent doesn’t roll in until Wednesday the 9th. The morning will see a small, short period swell at about 5ft from the NNW with a period of 9 seconds, but a cross-shore breeze will leave it lumpy. The afternoon drops a bit to about 4ft from the west, period dropping to 8 seconds, and the wind swings cross-offshore, cleaning it up. It’s marginal at best though.

Thursday the 10th is a write-off with tiny, near-flat conditions.

Friday the 11th sees some size come back, about 6ft from the west with a 9-second period, but the cross-shore wind makes a mess of it in the morning. The afternoon cleans up with a cross-offshore breeze, but it’s still just a marginal wave.

Now, here’s where it gets interesting. Starting Saturday the 12th of September, the swell really kicks in. We’re looking at about 10ft from the WNW with a very long 13-second period. The combined energy is enormous (2948), and the wind is offshore in the morning, so it will be clean. But that size is too big for beginners – this is expert territory only. The morning light offshore wind will be a major positive, making for some epic, clean lines. The afternoon stays big but the wind goes cross-on, so the morning is the window. This train of large, long-period groundswell continues through Sunday the 13th and Monday the 14th. Sunday morning has a 7ft WNW swell at 11 seconds with light offshore winds, and combined energy of 1006 – that’s a solid, powerful wave. Sunday afternoon drops a bit to 6ft with the same period, but the offshore wind remains, giving us a clean, strong wave. Monday the 14th though, we’re back up to 10ft to 13ft with strong winds, so it's back to being a big, heavy beast.

For the standout of the whole period, I’m pointing to the morning of Saturday the 12th and the morning of Sunday the 13th. Saturday the 12th gives you that first blast of 10ft groundswell, clean from the south-west offshore breeze. It’s a proper, powerful point break wave with that long period energy. Sunday the 13th is the other winner: 7ft from the WNW, period of 11 seconds, and a light offshore breeze from the south. The combined energy is moderate (1006), but the quality will be there. Remember, this break can be inconsistent, so be patient. And with crowds listed as “never”, you might have it to yourself. The water temp is about average for this time of year.

The second week keeps the theme of big swell, but with more wind. Tuesday the 15th is still large with clean conditions, but the 8ft to 12ft range is pushing it for anyone not on a gun. Wednesday the 16th offers a chance for a smaller, cleaner wave in the morning with a 4ft west swell and light cross-offshore wind, but it’s not a standout. From Thursday the 17th through the weekend, it’s a mess of big, wind-affected swell. Saturday the 19th and Sunday the 20th see enormous 16ft to 20ft groundswell with incredible energy (11985), but with strong cross-offshore winds. This is for experts only, and even then, it’s a battle. The final days show the swell dropping but the wind staying problematic.

So to wrap it up: your best bets are the mornings of Saturday the 12th and Sunday the 13th. Get out there early for the cleanest, most powerful waves. The rest of the time, it’s either too big, too messy, or too small for most.

Rusty.

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