Poldhu Cove Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, let’s get this out of the way. I’m lookin’ at the charts for Poldhu Cove, and honestly, it’s a tough stretch ahead. The next week and a half is pretty much a write-off, so don’t be in a rush to wax the board just yet.

We’ve got a big stormy start, with a real messy swell push on Saturday the 29th. Swell heights are around 10 ft to 12 ft, but it’s comin’ straight from the SW with a short, lumpy 8-second period. The wind is honking 25 to 28 mph onshore, so it’s gonna be a washing machine out there. The combined energy is high (866 on Saturday morning, jumping to 2181 in the afternoon) but it’s all wind-chop and chaos. Not a paddle out, that’s for sure.

That rough pattern sticks around through the whole first week. Sunday the 30th through Friday the 4th, we’re lookin’ at swell from the W and WSW, mostly 5 ft to 8 ft, but the wind stays onshore or cross-onshore, freshenin’ up to 19–28 mph at times. The water temp is sitting at 64°, which is a touch warmer than normal for this time of year, but that’s about the only nice thing I can say. The energy readings are moderate to strong (between 267 and 1243), but the quality is just not there. It’s all lumpy, choppy, and messy. For a spot like Poldhu Cove, which is a fairly exposed beach set-up, this is more interesting for kite surfers than us paddle folk.

There’s a real gap of poor surf from the 29th of August right through to the 7th of September. The wave comment stays “poor surf conditions” every single session, except for a couple of “marginal” days. The only time we get a sniff of clean waves is on Monday morning the 7th of September. That’s the standout, and it’s a long way off. The swell is 6 ft from the W with a 10-second period, and the wind goes light offshore from the NE at just 3 mph. That’s glassy, clean, and the wave comment says “expect good surf conditions.” The combined energy is 607, so moderate but solid. If you can wait that long, that’s the window. The break is inconsistent, so don’t expect a non-stop party, but when those sets come in, they’ll be clean.

After that, Tuesday the 8th still has clean mornings with cross-offshore winds, but the swell drops to 5 ft, and it’s more marginal. By Wednesday the 9th, the swell is fading fast, and the last few days of the outlook show tiny, weak waves with poor wind again. The energy drops to double digits by the 10th, so it’s really fizzling out. The very end of the period (13th September) has a long-period swell of 15 seconds, but it’s only 2 ft to 2 ft with fresh onshore wind, so it’s just a lumpy cleanup.

Bottom line: The only real shot at a decent surf is Monday morning the 7th of September. The rest is a write-off or marginal. Keep an eye on the forecasts, but for now, I’d be doin’ something else.

Rusty.

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