Perran Sands Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Right then, let’s have a look at what’s on offer for the next couple of weeks. I’m not gonna lie, it’s a pretty grim outlook for the immediate future. The first bit of surf that’s even worth a mention is a tiny window of small, clean waves, but it’s a long wait. We’ve got a big gap of nothing until the very end of the period.

We start off with a real dud. Friday the 31st of July through to the 8th of August is a write-off. The swell is tiny, mostly under 3 ft, and the wind is all over the place – onshore, cross-onshore, just messy. The combined energy is weak, often in the double digits (40, 57, 35, etc.), and the wave comment is consistently “poor surf conditions.” It’s a real flat spell, so don’t even bother waxing your board.

The first glimmer of something happens on the morning of Sunday the 9th of August. Perran Sands gets a proper pulse of energy, with a 8 ft swell from the west and a very strong combined energy of 915. That’s a lot of power. But, and it’s a big but, the wind is onshore from the NNW at 12 mph, which will chop it up. That size is also only for the experienced crew – over 8 ft is expert territory and this is right on the edge. The afternoon drops a bit to 7 ft, and the energy is still high at 502, but the wind stays onshore. This is a real raw, powerful, and messy setup. For a reef break like Perran Sands, that onshore wind will make it a washing machine. Honestly, for a paddler, this looks like a no-go, but if you’ve got a kite, that strong wind and heavy swell could be a blast.

Monday the 10th of August the swell drops to 5 ft in the morning and 5 ft in the afternoon, still with onshore winds. The energy is still decent (326 and 248), but the quality is poor. By Tuesday the 11th, the wind finally swings offshore (SSW at 12 mph) in the morning, but the swell has dropped to a tiny 3 ft, so the energy is low (146). It’d be clean, but there’s just not enough wave to push you around. The afternoon sees a cross-shore breeze and a 3 ft swell with a 10-second period, which is a bit more organised, but the surface will be a mess.

After that, it’s back to tiny, weak, and messy for the rest of the run. The water temperature is a touch warmer than normal for the time of year, coming in at 66° at the start, which is a little bonus.

So, looking at the whole 16 days, there’s no standout session. The best of a bad bunch is the clean morning of Tuesday the 11th of August, but it’s just too small to get excited about. The bigger swell on the 9th is just too blown out. It’s a frustrating forecast, but that’s the way it goes sometimes. The forecasts can change, so keep your eye on it, but for now, I’d be finding something else to do.

Rusty.

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