Portreath Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Right, let’s have a look at what’s on the cards for the next couple of weeks. Honestly, the outlook for Portreath Beach is a tough one. We’ve got a stretch of poor conditions kicking things off through the first week, with strong winds and messy onshore slop making it hard to get excited. The water temp is sitting about average for the time of year, so no surprises there.

We start on Monday 31st August with a lumpy 10ft W swell, blown out by a fresh NW wind. The combined swell energy is strong at 1553, but that’s all power and no polish. Tuesday 1st September isn’t much better, with a drop to 4ft W swell and light cross-shore breeze, but the wave comment says it all – poor. That theme holds right through to the weekend of 5th and 6th September. Saturday 5th does see a clean window with a light NNW onshore wind and a 6ft WNW swell, with a solid period of 12 seconds. The energy is decent at 767, but the surf is only marginal, and that swell direction is a touch onshore for this beach.

The first real standout doesn’t come until Monday 7th September. We’ve got a long-period groundswell rolling in from the west at 14 seconds, pushing 3ft of swell. It’s a light cross-shore breeze, so it will be clean. The combined energy is 356, moderate, but that swell period at 14 seconds means real shape and power. Portreath is a fairly exposed beach, and a long-period W swell like this can produce some nice lines, though it might break a bit straight at times. It’s worth a look if you’re an intermediate, and crowds are often a thing here, so expect company.

Then, Tuesday 8th September might be the best of the lot. The swell jumps to 7ft from the west, with a 9-second period, and a gentle cross-shore breeze keeps it from being completely chopped. The combined energy is 788, which is solid. That’s a good size for an intermediate, not too big, and the wind is light. Again, crowds often, but for a clean 7ft wave, you’ll take it. The score only gives it a 2, but compared to the rest, it’s the peak.

After that, it fades fast. The second week drops off to tiny, clean but tiny surf. There are a couple of days around Tuesday 15th September with a moderate offshore breeze and a 3ft W swell at 12 seconds, but the energy is only 225. It's surfable, but nothing to write home about. The gap from the 10th to the 15th is mostly flat or too weak.

Overall, the best window is Monday 7th and Tuesday 8th. That long-period 14-second swell on Monday is the pick for shape and quality, though Tuesday has more size. Neither is perfect, but in a rough stretch, those are the moments to be in the water.

Rusty.

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