Magheraroarty Strand Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Right, lads, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at the next stretch for Magheroaroarty Strand. It’s a bit of a mixed bag, so we gotta pick our moments. The water’s sitting at 61°, which is a touch warmer than normal for this time of year, so that’s a bit of a bonus.

The window kicks off with a sluggish start. Monday the 17th has a bit of knee-high slop, with a weak 1ft swell and short period. Not worth getting wet for. Tuesday sees a bump in size but it’s messy, with onshore winds and poor conditions. We’re looking at a couple of days of building swell, but it’s all pretty jumbled.

Then we get to Wednesday the 19th. This is where things get interesting. The swell jumps to 8ft with a longer 11-second period, and the energy is pumping at 1678. The wind is cross-offshore, which is good, but the call is that this is just too big for this break. It’s a standout for power, but for the average punter, it’s going to be a handful. The afternoon stays big at 8ft, but the wind swings cross-on and it gets choppy.

Thursday and Friday are write-offs with onshore winds and a dropping, junky swell. We’re looking at a few days of not much. The weekend stays pretty ordinary, with small, weak swells and cross-shore winds. Not great.

The first week is, honestly, a bit of a letdown. There’s that one big pulse on the 19th, but it’s for experts only. The standouts are few and far between. The surf really doesn't find its groove until much later.

Looking into the second week, the 26th of August shapes up as the one to circle. We’ve got a clean 4ft to 5ft swell from the WNW with a decent 11-second period. The wind is offshore and it’s looking like a proper surfable day. The energy is moderate at 394 to 425, but the conditions are clean. This is the highlight of the entire period. It’s not huge, but it’ll be fun.

After that, it drops back down into mediocrity until the very end. The 30th of August sees another big pulse, 7ft, but again, it’s flagged as too big for this break, and the wind is on it. The 1st of September also has a big 8ft swell, but the wind is howling from the southeast at 25 mph, which is going to ruin it.

So, if you’re keen, make a plan for Wednesday the 26th of August. That’s the pick of the fortnight. The windows around the 19th and 30th are just too big and not clean enough, more of a spectacle than a surf. It’s a long wait, but there’s one gem in there. The rest is a lot of flatness or blown-out mush.

Rusty, signing off.

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