Paignton Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Let’s be straight with you—this 16-day stretch for Paignton is a tough one. We’re looking at a whole lot of nothing for the first week, with a few small windows of hope late in the run. Don’t get too fired up just yet.

Right off the bat, the surf is completely flat. From Wednesday the 9th through Tuesday the 15th, there’s zero swell on the cards. The wind’s mostly cross-off or offshore, and the water’s clean, but with no waves, it’s just a pretty-looking pond. You’ll be staring at glassy conditions with nothing to ride. The water temp is sitting at 66°, which is a solid 5° warmer than usual for this time of year—that’s a notable bump, so if you do get in for a paddle or a swim, it’ll feel pleasant, but there’s no surf to be had.

We finally see a pulse of tiny, weak energy kicking in on Wednesday the 16th. Swell height is only 2ft from the NE with a period of 3 seconds—that’s just wind chop, not a real swell. The energy reading is a low 9, so it’s barely alive. It’s not worth suiting up for, in my book.

Things stay flat and weak through Thursday the 17th and Friday the 18th, with waves barely reaching 2ft at their best, still on short-period E/NE windslop. The energy is still weak, peaking at 35. The wind is light offshore on Thursday morning, which will make the surface glassy, but it’s still just knee-high mush.

Saturday the 19th is a complete write-off—swell drops to 0.7ft and the energy is down to 1. Forget it. Sunday the 20th sees a slight bump to 3ft, but it’s cross-onshore, bringing in little ripples. Not great.

Now, here’s the one moment worth circling on your calendar: Monday the 21st. The swell pushes up to 4ft from the east with a 6-second period. The combined energy finally tips over 100, hitting 111, which is moderate energy. But the real winner is the wind—it’s glassy in the morning. That means clean, small, but surfable waves at Paignton. It’s not going to blow you away, but it’s the first real surfable option we’ve had. It’s only rated as very ordinary, so keep your expectations low. It’s a beach break, so with this short period and smaller size, it’ll be a bit crumbly, but for a beginner or someone just wanting to get wet, it’s doable.

Tuesday the 22nd gets a bit more energy but the wind picks up cross-off, and the quality drops back to poor. Wednesday the 23rd is another slight improvement—swell reaches 5ft from the east, with energy climbing to 148. The wind is offshore and clean, which is a positive. This is likely your other best bet, but it’s still just a marginal day. The swell direction is from the east, which is the opposite of the optimum direction for this spot, so it won’t be breaking with any real punch.

After that, Thursday the 24th sees the swell fade back down, with fresh offshore winds but only 3ft of weak, short-period swell.

So, bottom line: there are no standouts here. The two best days are Monday the 21st and Wednesday the 23rd, but even those are just “rideable” rather than “good.” Don’t plan any road trips around this. With the water this warm and the waves this scarce, it might be a better week to dust off the kite or just enjoy the sunshine. Keep an eye on the forecasts, because with this warm water, things could change, but for now, it’s a lean stretch.

Rusty out.

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