Mawgan Porth Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s be straight with you — this is a tough one for the coast here. The forecast is a long, drawn-out stretch of grim news for surfers, with nothing I’d call a standout session. If you’ve got a kite, you might want to keep reading, but for a paddle surfer, it’s a lean 16 days.

We start off on Saturday the 22nd with tiny, weak swell. Some clouds and a moderate north-northeast breeze making it cross-off, but the waves are a pathetic 2 ft from the west, with a period of 9 seconds and not much energy behind it (90). The water is sitting at 66°, which is a touch warmer than normal for this time of year, but that’s the only highlight. It’s poor surf, pure and simple.

Into Sunday the 23rd, it somehow gets smaller. Morning brings a 0.7 ft groundswell from the west-southwest with a long 14-second period, but that’s just a long wait for nothing. The afternoon ticks up to a meager 1 ft from the southwest. The energy is still very weak (58). Surfable? Technically, but it’s ordinary.

Monday the 24th offers a clean offshore wind from the east, which is the kind of wind that would make a decent day special. But there’s virtually no swell. We’re talking 0.7 ft. Even with that clean, offshore breeze, you can’t surf what isn’t there. The energy is just 15.

Tuesday the 25th is the closest we get to a "maybe" in the first week. Morning brings 2 ft from the west with a 10-second period, light offshore wind, and the energy ticks up to 57. The wave comment calls it "surfable but very ordinary," and that’s the best we’ve got. The afternoon gets choppy and cross-off, killing the vibe.

Wednesday the 26th through Friday the 28th is a steady diet of onshore and cross-onshore winds, with swell heights starting to build. By Thursday the 27th, we see an energy jump to 131, but it’s a stormy, cross-shore mess. By Friday the 28th, the swell is up to 5 ft from the west-southwest, but the wind is a strong cross-onshore, and the energy is moderate (346). The setup is choppy and ugly. This is a beach-and-river setup, and with that much wind and swell, it’s honestly looking more interesting for a kite surfer than a paddler.

The weekend of the 29th and 30th is the biggest swell of the window, but it’s a total write-off. Saturday the 29th sees 7 ft from the west with a short 8-second period, a full-on onshore gale, and strong wave energy (639). That’s too big for beginners, and with the wind howling straight onshore, it’s a washing machine. Only experts would even look at it, and even then, it’s a mess. Sunday the 30th is slightly smaller but still lumpy and cross-onshore.

The first week of September is more of the same. Monday the 1st has 7 ft from the west-northwest, but it’s blown out by a fresh onshore breeze. Periods stay short. Energy stays moderate to strong. The wind never lets up. By Wednesday the 3rd, the swell drops back to tiny, and the wind finally lightens, but we’re looking at 0.7 ft swell with a long 17-second period – that’s a groundswell that’s too weak to do anything.

The final few days, the 4th through the 6th of September, bring a bit more life to the swell, with 5 ft from the west, but it’s constantly hammered by strong onshore or cross-onshore winds. The last day, Sunday the 6th, shows a 1 ft long-period groundswell (12 seconds) from the west-northwest, but the wind is howling at 28 mph onshore. Absolutely unrideable.

Honestly, there’s no standout here. Not a single day in 16 days offers the combination of decent swell, clean wind, and good conditions. The best of a bad bunch is the morning of Tuesday the 25th of August, with that light offshore wind and 2 ft of swell. It’s tiny, but it’s clean. That’s as good as it gets.

Stay patient, folks. It’s a rough run for the breaks around here.

Rusty.

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