Nordseeklinik Westerland (Sylt) Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s get straight into it for Sylt. We’ve got a tough stretch ahead, so don’t get your hopes up too early.

The whole 16-day window is looking pretty grim for surfable waves. For the first week, we’re dealing with onshore winds that just won’t quit, making a mess of things. The swell is there, but it’s wind-driven, short-period junk. The real problem is that the wind is blowing straight onshore from the northwest for days, and it’s strong – 31 mph on Wednesday the 22nd, with a 7ft swell but a period of only 7 seconds. That’s just a washing machine. The combined energy is moderate (429), but it’s all for nothing with that wind. This pattern sticks around through the weekend, with the swell dropping and the wind staying ugly.

We do get a bit of a reprieve mid-week. On Wednesday the 29th, the wind finally drops. The morning is the best bet, with a gentle breeze from the WSW and a smaller 4ft swell from the WNW. It’s still not great, but it’s the most surfable moment in the first week. The afternoon gets even lighter, but the swell fades too.

Then, from Thursday the 30th right through to the end of the 16 days, the surf goes completely flat. There’s almost no energy at all. The combined energy numbers drop to single digits. We’re talking about nothing worth paddling out for. The only positive is that the wind turns offshore on the 30th and 31st, and by the 5th and 6th of August, we see some clean conditions again, but with hardly any swell. On the morning of August 6th, there’s a small 4ft swell from the west with a 5-second period and clean offshore wind, but the energy is weak (55). It’s a tease.

The only real standout, if you can call it that, is the Wednesday the 29th morning session at Nordseeklinik Westerland (Sylt). The swell is 4ft from the WNW, period is short at 5 seconds, but the wind is a gentle cross-shore breeze from the WSW. It’s not going to be epic, but it’s the only time the conditions are even close to being clean. Crowds are likely here, so be ready for some company. The water temp is about average for this time of year.

For the rest of the period, save your energy. The second week is a total washout with no swell. It’s a blank run, and sadly, that’s pretty normal for this area when the wind sets in like this.

Rusty.

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