Porthtowan Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, surfers, Rusty here. Let’s talk about the next couple of weeks at Porthtowan. It’s a bit of a mixed bag, so let’s get into it.

The start of this stretch is going to be a write-off for decent waves. We're looking at a run of poor conditions with onshore winds and messy, choppy surf through the middle of the week. There’s some energy showing on Wednesday, with a moderate 310 energy reading and waves pushing 5ft, but the west winds are going to chop it all up. It’s just not worth paddling out for that.

The wind finally looks like it might ease off for a bit on Friday morning, the 21st. We'll have a light cross-shore breeze and a clean-ish 3ft of west-northwest swell, but it’s only an 8-second period and the energy is weak at 203. It’s one of the better-looking sessions of the week, but still pretty marginal.

After that, things go flat. The weekend and the start of the following week are poor, with tiny swell and a lot of wind. We are looking at a real lull from the 22nd through the 25th. The energy drops to double digits, and the waves are down to nothing, just 0.7ft. It’s a proper flat spell.

Now, here’s where it gets interesting. While the surf is flat, we see a big pulse of energy building for later in the week. The 26th sees a strong cross-shore wind and swell building, and then Thursday the 27th sees a serious jump. We’re talking a powerful 12ft of west swell with a 12-13 second period, and the combined energy is through the roof at 3781 and 7388. This is a big, powerful groundswell, and it will be way too big and unruly for most. The wind is onshore and strong, so it’s going to be a full-on, heavy, stormy mess. This is one for the experts only, and only if they’re really keen. In fact, with those winds and that size, this setup looks way more interesting for the kite surfers than the paddle surfers.

The big swell drops quickly, and by the 28th we're back down to a more manageable 5ft, but it's still lumpy with fresh onshore winds.

Then we get to Monday the 31st of August. This is the standout. The long-range models are showing a solid 8-8ft west-northwest swell with a very long 14-15 second period. The combined energy is massive, over 2500. The morning is marred by a moderate cross-shore wind, but the afternoon looks cleaner with a cross-offshore breeze. This is the one to circle. That long period west-northwest swell is what Porthtowan loves. The water temp is about average for this time of year, so nothing crazy there. It’s promising, but we’re far enough out that we need to keep an eye on it. This is the best on offer for sure.

After this, the swell fades quickly, and we're back to smaller, wind-affected surf by the 1st.

So, to sum it up: there's a lot of junk to sift through, a proper flat spell, one big and unruly day, and one great, potential day at the end. The 31st is your best bet, but don't put all your eggs in that basket just yet. Stay stoked.

Rusty.

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