Portreath Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s have a proper look at what’s coming for our stretch of coast. I’ll be honest with you, the next two weeks are a bit of a mixed bag and for the most part you’ll be watching from the sand. We’ve got a long run of days where the wind and swell just aren’t playing nice together. The whole first week is pretty much a write-off for decent surf. From Monday the 24th of August right through to Saturday the 30th, it’s all small, weak stuff or blown out. Swell energy is low, mostly under 100, and the wind is smashing it up. Just not worth paddling out.

Monday 24th starts with a tiny 1ft swell from the SW, period a short 14 seconds, but with a cross-off east wind at 19 mph making things messy. Combined energy is a weak 42. Tuesday and Wednesday bring a little more size, up to 2ft, but the period drops, and the wind is still cross-off or offshore, but the swell is just too weak. Thursday afternoon sees a jump to 6ft from the SW, but the wind swings strong cross-off at 19 mph, energy hits 334, yet it’s all rough. Friday the 28th gets bigger, 8ft from the WNW, but that’s an onshore wind and a short period of 7 seconds. Combined energy is 658. That’s more of a washing machine than a wave. Saturday picks up again to 8ft from the WSW, but it’s cross-on wind, and it’s lumpy.

Sunday the 30th is more of the same, messy. Then Monday 31st rolls in with the biggest swell of the early period. The swell is 8ft from the west, with a period of 9-10 seconds and combined energy up over 1000. But it’s hammered by cross-on winds at 19 mph. That is going to be a blown-out mess, not something for a paddle board. If you’re into kite surfing, that might be your moment.

Wednesday 2nd September through Friday 4th keeps the swell size around 5ft to 7ft, but the wind just won’t get good. Mostly cross-on or onshore, so the quality is poor. The energy stays moderate to strong but the surf quality is poor.

Now, we do have a standout in the second week, but you’ve got to wait for it. The best chance of anything decent comes on Monday the 7th of September. It’s still not a classic, but it’s something. The morning sees a 3ft swell from the west, a 10-second period, and a cross-off wind from the SSW at 16 mph. That’s clean. Combined energy is 276, moderate. The afternoon gets a bit weird – the swell drops to 1ft, but the period jumps to 26 seconds. That’s a very long period groundswell, energy is 525. That tiny swell with that long a period will only work at very specific spots, think points or reefs, not the beach.

But the real standout, and I mean the one that could be epic if you’re skilled enough, is Tuesday the 8th of September. The morning shows a 13ft swell from the west, 16-second period. That’s a massive, long-period groundswell. Combined energy is a whopping 8522. That is serious energy. The wind is cross-off from the south at 19 mph, so clean. However, the guidance tells us it’s predicted to be too big for this break. At 13ft, that’s expert-only territory. It will be a show, and only the gnarliest crew will be out there. The afternoon eases to 12ft, same direction, period 15 seconds, but the wind turns cross-shore. Still big, but less clean.

So, bottom line: there’s a long, frustrating gap of nearly two weeks of poor conditions. The only two days worth a look are Monday 7th September for a clean, small wave day, and Tuesday 8th September for a massive, expert-only groundswell. The water temp on the first day mentioned is 64°, which is about average for the time of year.

Take what you can get. Patience is a virtue.

Rusty

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