Magheraroarty Strand Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s take a look at what’s coming up for our stretch of coast.

We’re starting with a bit of a slow period. The first few days are pretty ordinary, with small surf and messy conditions. The real action doesn’t kick off until Tuesday the 18th, and then it gets proper wild. There’s a long gap of poor surf after that, before another big pulse shows up right at the end of the month.

Magheraroarty Strand is our only spot on the radar, a point break that’s exposed to the north-northwest. The water is sitting at 61°F, which is a touch warmer than normal for this time of year.

Alright, so Sunday morning the 16th, we’ve got a little 3ft NW swell, but it’s short-period at 8 seconds, and the wind is a cross-off from the SE. The combined energy is weak (81). It’s clean, but really just knee-high dribble. The afternoon is even smaller. Monday the 17th it drops right off to nothing.

Now, Tuesday morning the 18th, things start to wake up. The swell jumps to 6ft from the W, but the period is still short at 8 seconds and the wind is a strong cross-off from the WSW. The energy picks up to moderate (386), but conditions are rated poor. Then Tuesday afternoon, the swell hits 8ft from the WNW with a better 11-second period. The energy is strong (1599), and the wind is still cross-off, but the file says it’s predicted to be too big for this break. This is only for experienced surfers, and even then, it’s looking like a handful.

Wednesday the 19th is full-on. Morning sees 10ft from the W at 10 seconds, with a strong breeze from the WSW. The energy is 1872, very strong. Again, it’s too big and messy. By afternoon, the wind swings onshore from the NW, making it choppy on top of the 8ft swell.

From Thursday the 20th through to the 26th, it’s a write-off. The wind is mostly onshore, the swell drops, and the energy is weak. There’s a solid 7-day stretch of poor conditions in there.

Friday the 28th afternoon, another big one shows up. An 12ft swell from the W at 12 seconds, with a strong cross-off wind. The energy is huge (3748). This is not a day for messing around. It’s way too big for this spot.

Saturday the 29th and Sunday the 30th bring even more size. Saturday morning is 13ft from the WNW at 11 seconds, and by Sunday morning it’s 10ft from the NW at 11 seconds, with a fresh offshore wind from the S. The energy on Sunday morning is 1703. These are all expert-only conditions, and the break is likely going to be blown out or just too heavy.

By Monday the 31st, it settles back down to small, ordinary surf.

If you’re a kitesurfer, the 18th through the 20th and the 28th through the 30th look like a proper playground. For a paddle surfer, there’s not one standout day in this 16-day window that I’d get excited about. The best of a bad bunch is probably the Tuesday morning the 18th, but even that’s only for the brave and experienced.

Rusty.

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