Perranporth Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G'day, Rusty here, lookin' at the surf for Perranporth over the next couple of weeks. Gotta be honest with you, it's a bit of a slow start, but there's a light at the end of the tunnel if you can wait.

Right off the bat, the first week or so is pretty ordinary. We're looking at a whole heap of days from this Sunday the 23rd of August right through to the end of the month where the swell is tiny and the wind just isn't playing ball. The wave energy is weak, barely crackin' 100 (43 to 269), and we're seeing poor surf conditions day after day. For the first few days, it's offshore or cross-off winds, but the swell is just too small to do anything with – we're talkin' 0.7ft to 2ft of weak, short-period stuff. The first real chance of a surf comes on Monday the 31st of August. The swell pushes up to 3ft from the west, but the real story is the wind. Monday afternoon it's glassy – dead calm – and the waves become surfable, even if it's ordinary. That glassy window is your best bet in the first week, with combined wave energy still only moderate at 139.

Then we get a dry spell again through to Wednesday the 2nd of September, with more small, onshore junk. A few days of nothing worthwhile.

Now, here's where it gets interesting. Thursday the 3rd of September is the standout. The morning session is lookin' tidy – we've got 5ft of west swell rollin' in with a light southerly breeze that's cross-offshore, keepin' the faces clean. The combined energy jumps right up to a solid 279, which is a big step up from the weak stuff we've been seein'. The crowd factor is listed as "sometimes", so you might have a few mates out, but that's Perranporth for ya. For the intermediate surfer, this is the one to aim for. The swell direction from the west is right on the money for this spot, which is fairly exposed to westerly swell.

Friday the 4th of September also has a good lookin' morning, with the same 5ft west swell, but with a longer period of 9 seconds, which means a touch more push and shape. The energy is even higher at 423, and the wind is a gentle southerly, keepin' things clean. The afternoon turns ugly though, as a fresh southerly cross-shore chops it up.

After that, the weekend of the 5th and 6th gets messy again with strong onshore winds and lumpy conditions. Sunday the 6th of September afternoon sees the swell jump to 8ft from the west with a 9-second period and a massive energy reading of 1027. But the wind is cross-off from the south, keepin' it clean. That's a big, powerful swell, but it's for experienced surfers only at that size. The morning of Sunday the 6th is a write-off with 7ft and onshore gales.

So in summary, the first week is mostly a write-off, but there's a small, glassy window on Monday the 31st of August afternoon if you're desperate. The real quality comes on Thursday the 3rd of September and Friday the 4th of September mornings – clean, fun-sized west swell that's a good step up in energy. After that, the weekend gets blown out and Sunday the 6th serves up a big, powerful swell for the experts.

Rusty out.

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