Mawgan Porth Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let’s get into it.

First thing you need to know: the next two weeks at Mawgan Porth are looking pretty grim. We’ve got a long stretch of nothing much to get excited about. The water is sitting at 64°, which is a touch warmer than normal for this time of year – about 3° above the average, so you might notice it’s a bit more pleasant than usual for a paddle.

The overall pattern is a lot of onshore and cross-onshore winds for the first week, with messy, lumpy, or choppy conditions. The swell doesn’t have much quality behind it. There’s a notable spike of moderate wave energy (337) on Saturday afternoon, 5th September, with a 4ft, 11-second W swell, but the wind is onshore and the surf is poor. Not worth getting wet for. Sunday morning the 6th is clean with a light cross-offshore breeze, but the swell is tiny at 2ft.

Then on Monday morning, 7th September, we get a big pulse of very strong wave energy (1487) – a 7ft, 13-second groundswell from the W. That’s a solid size, but the wind is onshore (WNW at 12 mph), and the conditions are marked as marginal. For a spot like this, that’s a frustrating mix. It’s steep and raw, and with that period over 11 seconds, it might be a bit too straight for a beach setup. This one is really only for the experienced crew, and even then, the wind is a killer. The afternoon of the 7th is similar, with 6ft, 12-second swell and 1106 energy, but still onshore.

The rest of that first week is a blur of cross-onshore winds and poor surf. Swell sizes range from 3ft to 6ft, but the wind is always messing it up. The energy is moderate to weak. There’s nothing to recommend.

We hit a gap of several days here. From the 8th through to the 16th, there are no good surf windows. A few mornings show clean conditions, like the 13th (Sunday) with a glassy morning and 3ft swell, but it’s weak (131 energy) and very ordinary. The 14th is glassy but flat at 2ft. The 15th is clean again but small at 3ft.

The one true standout comes on Thursday morning, 17th September. This is the best day on offer. We’ve got a 6ft, WNW swell with a 7-second period, and the wind is glassy – zero wind, smooth as a lake. Wave energy is moderate (278). The conditions are expected to be good. This is a morning for the dawn patrol, for sure. The beach will be clean, and the swell direction is perfect for the spot. It’s a bit short period, so it won’t be the most powerful, but it’ll be fun and user-friendly. The afternoon of the 17th is also good, with a 5ft swell and a light cross-offshore breeze, keeping it clean.

After that, the 18th and 19th are back to small, ordinary surf, and the 20th has a 4ft, 11-second W swell with a gentle offshore breeze in the morning – clean, but not a standout.

Bottom line: wait for the 17th. That’s your window. Everything else is either too small, too windy, or too messy. The long stretch of poor conditions is a bit of a bummer, but it won’t stay like this forever. Forecasts can change.

Rusty.

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