Paignton Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s on the cards for our local stretch.

Right off the bat, I gotta be straight with you – we’ve got a long, hard stretch of nothing much. The charts are showing a flat spell that’s gonna last a good while. From the start of the period all the way through to the end of the first week into July, there’s barely a ripple to get excited about. The combined wave energy sits at zero (0) for days on end, and the comments are all "poor surf conditions." It’s a real bummer.

We finally get a whisper of life on the morning of Thursday, 9th July. A tiny bit of swell shows up at Paignton, but it’s a weak, short-period windswell from the NE at 1.0 ft with a period of only 3 seconds. The combined energy is just a measly 1, and it’s blowing straight onshore from the ENE. That’s not surf, that’s just messy chop. It’s a no-go for a paddle.

The following days stay pretty grim. We get a few more tiny pulses – a 1 ft swell from the ESE on the 10th, but again onshore wind. Then on the 11th and 12th, we get some clean offshore winds from the WNW, but the swell is still pitifully small, like 0.3 ft to 1 ft. The energy figures are all in the single digits. It’s clean, but there’s nothing to ride.

We start to see a little more life around the 13th of July, with a 2 ft NE swell and a period of 4 seconds, producing a combined energy of 9. The wind is offshore from the W, so it’ll be clean. It’s still tiny, though. The 14th and 15th are back to flat or near-flat with no energy.

The best we’ve got in this whole window is late on Friday, 17th July. On the afternoon, we get a 2 ft swell from the E with a period of 4 seconds, and the combined energy jumps up to 14. The wind is a light cross-off from the WNW, so it’ll be clean. That’s the standout. It’s still not big, and it’s a short-period windswell, so it’ll be a bit crumbly, but it’s the only time the energy breaks into double digits. For a beginner, it’s a good chance to get wet on a longboard. For experienced surfers, it’s a novelty session. The water temp is 64°, which is about 5° warmer than usual for this time of year – a very notable anomaly.

After that, we’re back to flat on the 18th. So, to sum it up: we’re looking at a long, flat run with only a couple of small, clean windows. The 17th of July afternoon is your best bet, but keep your expectations low. It’s a real quiet period for Paignton.

Rusty.

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