Portreath Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s get into it for Portreath.

We’ve got a pretty grim stretch ahead, I’m not gonna lie. For the next week and a half, the wind is just relentless, coming from the wrong directions, and the swell is either non-existent or getting torn to pieces. It’s a real test of patience. The first real, half-decent window doesn’t show up until the morning of Tuesday the 4th of August, which is a long, dry spell of about a week with nothing worth paddling out for.

The water at Portreath Beach is sitting at 64°, which is a touch warmer than normal for this time of year, so at least you won’t be freezing while you’re sitting there waiting for something to happen.

Right, let’s run through the doldrums. Thursday the 23rd of July starts with a tiny 2ft northerly swell and glassy conditions in the morning, but the energy is weak (54), and the waves are just poor. It’s a tease. From there, it’s a parade of small, choppy, cross-onshore slop, with the wind howling from the N and NW, ruining anything that tries to form. Saturday the 26th sees a jump in size to 7ft from the WNW (417 energy), but it’s got 30 km/h winds on it, so it’s a messy, lumpy beast. Not for the faint-hearted. That pattern continues through to the end of the month.

The first bit of light comes on the morning of Thursday the 30th of July. We get a glassy, calm morning with a 3ft WNW swell (150 energy). It’s surfable, but the conditions are just “very ordinary,” so don’t expect much. Then it’s back to the wind and chop.

Now, the standout. The best on offer is the morning of Tuesday the 4th of August. The wind goes glassy, dead calm, with an easterly breeze – can’t get any cleaner than that. The swell is a solid 5ft from the west (293 energy), which is a decent size. It’s a 7-second period, so it’s a short-period windswell, but with that glassy surface, it’ll be the best shape we’ve seen in weeks. The direction is WNW, which is exactly what Portreath wants. It’s a bit of a wait, but that morning is your window.

Before that, on Monday the 3rd of August, we get a big pulse of 8ft west swell (925 energy), but it’s cross-shore wind and a short period, making it marginal. That’s more of a kite-surfing setup than a clean paddle session, to be honest.

To wrap it up, the first week and a half is a write-off. The real hope is that Tuesday morning, the 4th of August. Swell is a clean 5ft west, wind is glassy, get on it. After that, it fades back into small, choppy rubbish.

Stay patient, keep checking the forecasts, and I’ll see you in the water when it cleans up.

Rusty.

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