Surf Forecasts:
Red Strand (Dirk Bay) surf forecast from 22 Jul 2026:
- Most powerful swell: Wednesday 29 Jul, 4AM (local time) - 2.5ft (0.8m), 6s period, WSW swell with 40 kJ wave energy.
Best Forecast Surf Conditions for Red Strand (Dirk Bay) this week:
The most powerful waves expected at Red Strand (Dirk Bay) in the next 16 days are 0.8m 6s and forecast to arrive on Wednesday (Jul 29) at 4AM. Winds are predicted to be cross-offshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 0.4m 3s period and expected on Saturday (Jul 25) at 7PM.
| Wave Type | Time (IST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | - | - |
| Best Surf | - | - |
| Most Powerful | 4AM (Wed 29th Jul) | 2.5ft (0.8m) 6s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Red Strand (Dirk Bay) over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s cooking for Red Strand, the sheltered reef break known as Dirk Bay. Straight up, I’ll be honest with you – this 16-day window is looking pretty grim. There’s not a single session that gets a green light for a proper surf. The whole stretch is a write-off for us paddlers.
We’re staring at a long, dry spell with no decent surf options from now all the way through to the 6th of August. That’s a solid two weeks of flatness or poor conditions. The little bumps of swell that do show up are tiny, barely registering 0.3 ft to 0.7 ft for most of the period, and the combined wave energy is pathetically weak, often just single digits or low double digits (like a maximum of 22). It’s a real bummer.
Things try to pick up a bit around the 31st of July, with a pulse of 6 ft swell from the SSW, pushing the combined energy up to 289 – that’s a moderate kick. But the wind is a mess, blowing hard onshore at 15 to 19 mph, making it choppy and blown-out. The period is a short, weak 6 to 7 seconds, so there’s no real power behind it. For a beginner-friendly reef like this, that size is already too big for learners, and the quality is just terrible. It’s a big miss.
Even by the 6th of August, the swell is still only 1 ft with a combined energy of 70, and the wind is howling cross-shore. There’s just nothing to get excited about.
The water temperature here is about average for the time of year, not that it matters much when you can’t surf.
Honestly, if you’re desperate for a session on the water around here, that breezy, cross-shore setup on the 31st of July might be more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing. But for us wave riders, it’s a flat, frustrating outlook. Forecasts can change, but right now, this is a blank run.
Stay patient, Rusty.
Short Range ForecastMostly dry. Warm (max 22°C on Fri afternoon, min 12°C on Tue night). Wind will be generally light. | Days 4-6 Weather SummarySome drizzle, heaviest during Sat morning. Warm (max 21°C on Sun afternoon, min 14°C on Sat night). Mainly fresh winds. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Wednesday 22 | Thursday 23 | Friday 24 | Saturday 25 | Sunday 26 | Monday 27 | Tuesday 28 | |||||||||||||||
AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | |
Swell Height Map |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | ||||||||||||||
Wave Height (m) Direction Period (s) | S 16 | S 15 | SSW 14 | SSW 15 | S 14 | SSW 13 | SSW 13 | SSW 13 | SSW 13 | SSW 12 | S 18 | S 12 | S 16 | S 16 | S 16 | S 13 | SW 4 | SW 4 | S 14 | SW 4 | SW 4 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 5 | 4 | 21 | 21 | 4 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 16 | 15 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 10 | 7 | 4 | 10 | 7 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | off | on | off | cross-off | cross-on | off | off | cross-on | cross-off | cross | cross | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross | cross | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross | cross-off |
High Tide | 11:55AM2.67m | 00:26AM2.57m | 12:59PM2.55m | 1:33AM2.48m | 2:08PM2.52m | 2:41AM2.48m | 3:12PM2.58m | 3:40AM2.57m | 4:06PM2.70m | 4:30AM2.71m | 4:52PM2.84m | 5:12AM2.86m | 5:32PM2.99m | ||||||||
Low Tide | 5:51AM0.88m | 6:22PM0.94m | 6:50AM1.01m | 7:26PM1.04m | 7:55AM1.06m | 8:33PM1.05m | 9:00AM1.03m | 9:34PM0.98m | 9:57AM0.93m | 10:26PM0.86m | 10:45AM0.79m | 11:10PM0.73m | 11:27AM0.65m | 11:50PM0.60m | |||||||
 | |  |  | | | | |  |  | | | | | | | |  | | | | |
 | 5:43 | — | — | 5:45 | — | — | 5:46 | — | — | 5:48 | — | — | 5:48 | — | — | 5:50 | — | — | 5:52 | — | — |
 | — | — | 9:38 | — | — | 9:37 | — | — | 9:36 | — | — | 9:35 | — | — | 9:34 | — | — | 9:31 | — | — | 9:30 |
mm | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Temp °C | 18 | 21 | 20 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 18 | 22 | 18 | 18 | 19 | 17 | 19 | 21 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 17 | 19 | 19 | 17 |
Feels °C | 16 | 19 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 17 | 20 | 15 | 14 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 17 | 17 | 14 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | S 16 | ENE 4 | SSW 14 | SSW 15 | E 4 | E 4 | E 4 | SSW 13 | SSW 13 | SSW 12 | SE 6 | SE 6 | WSW 6 | S 16 | WSW 5 | S 11 | S 16 | S 14 | S 12 | S 12 | S 14 |
| kJ | 5 | 2 | 21 | 21 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 17 | 16 | 15 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | S 15 | E 4 | E 5 | S 14 | SSW 13 | SSW 13 | — | — | SE 5 | S 12 | S 12 | S 12 | S 12 | S 12 | S 13 | S 11 | S 11 | S 12 | S 15 | W 11 |
| kJ | — | 4 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 17 | 17 | — | — | 1 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 2 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | S 7 | — | S 6 | — | E 6 | S 6 | S 6 | S 6 | S 5 | — | S 18 | — | S 16 | W 8 | S 16 | W 9 | SW 11 | W 8 | S 14 | S 10 | S 10 |
| kJ | 1 | — | 1 | — | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | — | 6 | — | 5 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 2 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | NNE 3 | — | — | ENE 3 | — | — | NE 3 | — | — | W 3 | W 3 | W 3 | — | WSW 5 | W 2 | SW 2 | SW 4 | SW 4 | SW 3 | SW 4 | SW 4 |
| kJ | 2 | — | — | 1 | — | — | 2 | — | — | 2 | 5 | 2 | — | 6 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 7 | 3 | 10 | 7 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 102 | 871 | 113 | 280 | 280 | 304 | 122 | 924 | 304 | 113 | 103 | 816 | 467 | 467 | 103 | 103 | 103 | 103 | 103 | 122 | 103 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Cork | |||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in Ireland | |||||||||||||||||||||
Header Global | |||||||||||||||||||||
- Map Icons:
Break
Live Wave Height (m)
Live Wind Speed (km/h)
Surf Rating (10 Max)
Ocean Swells (m)- Wind Speed (km/h)
FREE! Surf-Forecast.com widget for your website
The surf report / weather widget below is available to embed on third party websites free of charge and provides a summary of our Red Strand (Dirk Bay) surf forecast. Simply grab the html code snippet that we provide and paste it into your own site. You can choose your preferred language and metric/imperial units for the surf forecast feed to suit users of your site. Click here to get the code.
Information about the Red Strand (Dirk Bay) Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for Red Strand (Dirk Bay) provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at Red Strand (Dirk Bay) can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our Red Strand (Dirk Bay) surf forecast is unique since it includes wave energy (power) that defines the real feel of the surf rather than just the height or the period. If you surf the same spot (Red Strand (Dirk Bay)) regularly then make a mental note of the wave energy from the surf forecast table each time you go. Very soon you may start to choose your surf days based on the wave energy alone combined with our forecast of favourable offshore wind conditions. Our star ratings will help here and of course you will also find the usual wave height and period predictions on our surf forecasts as well as a full break down of the swell components under our advanced users option (to reveal that, click the little Einstein character under the tide times).
Further information to help with frequently asked questions about our surf forecast for Red Strand (Dirk Bay) may be found under the help tab on the top menu and also by moving your mouse over the question marks on the surf forecast table itself. Please always bear in mind that the forecast is for near-shore open water and local factors at each surf break influence the actual breaking wave height, such as the beach / reef profile, water depths offshore and shelter.
Are you planning a holiday in Cork? If you are looking for accommodation near Red Strand (Dirk Bay), camping, hotels and holiday cottages in Cork, consider staying in Kinsale which is 34 km (21 miles) away. Other places in and around Cork where you can find information about places to rent, and car hire include Bantry which is 39 km (24 miles) away, Cork, Cobh and Youghal.
Nearest