Paignton Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, let's have a proper look through this 16-day window for Paignton.

Honestly, mate, it’s a bit of a flat spell for the next week or so. From the 12th right through until the morning of the 23rd of September, we’re looking at a big fat zero on the energy front – completely flat. That’s about eleven days of nothing to get excited about. Don't bother paddling out; you’ll just be floating around.

We finally see a pulse of life on the afternoon of the 23rd, but it’s barely worth a mention – just 0.3ft of short-period SE windswell with a measly 1 (weak) combined swell energy and light cross-onshore winds. It’s not going to do anything.

The first real nod to something surfable comes on Thursday the 24th. The swell nudges up to 2ft from the SE with a period of 4 seconds. The energy is still very weak at 11 (weak), but the winds turn light cross-shore in the afternoon, which makes a huge difference for tidying things up. It’s still pretty average junk, but you could probably find a crumbly little wave if you're desperate.

Friday the 25th is the best of a poor lot. Swell size pushes up to 3ft from the ESE, with the period still at a short 4 seconds. The combined energy climbs to 23 (weak). It’s still onshore-light ENE in the morning, then cross-onshore in the afternoon, so it’ll be bumpy and weak, but it’s the biggest wave of the entire 16-day outlook. If you’ve got a longboard and low expectations, this is your session.

After that, it fades away again from the 26th, dropping back to 1ft and smaller, with messy winds.

So for the entire forecast, there are no true standouts. The 3ft ESE windswell on the 25th is the only event that even qualifies as a ‘surf’. The water temp is about 2° warmer than usual for this time of year (much warmer than normal), so at least you won't need a thick winter suit. Take the tiny window of opportunity on the 25th if you can, but keep the expectations in the car.

Rusty.

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