Saint Annes Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, you lot. Rusty here, and I’m not going to sugarcoat it. This 16-day stretch for Saint Annes is a grind. The swell is on holiday, and the wind is doing us no favours. This is a reef break, sheltered from a lot, and it really wants a WNW swell. We get a sniff of that, but the wind is always a problem. The first proper recommendation doesn’t show up until the end of the first week, so you’re looking at a slow start.

We’re starting on Friday, August 7th. The morning is clear, but the wind is a cross-on WSW breeze at 6 mph. We’ve got a tiny 2ft swell from the SSW, with a very long period of 19 seconds. That groundswell has some energy, but it’s not the right direction for this spot. The combined energy is weak (312). The water temp is about normal for the season. It’s a poor surf day. The afternoon is the same, with a slightly bigger 2ft swell and a long period, but still cross-on and poor. The next few days are a repeat of marginal or poor conditions. The swell stays small, mostly under 3ft, with periods ranging from 15 to 19 seconds. The wind is light, but it’s either cross-on or onshore. You’ll be dealing with that light cross-onshore chop and small wind ripples. By Sunday, August 9th, the wind goes onshore from the SW, still light, with a 3ft SSW swell. It’s poor.

The first real change comes Monday, August 10th. The morning has a 4ft swell starting to show from the WNW, with a period of 10 seconds. The wind is light and onshore from the SSW. The swell direction is finally matching what we want, but the onshore breeze is a deal-breaker. The combined energy is moderate (423). It’s still a marginal call. The afternoon is similar, with a 3ft WNW swell and a very light onshore breeze from the SW. The energy is moderate (463). Still marginal. The rest of the week into the second week is more of the same. The swell stays small, mostly from the SSW, with periods that are either very long (16-18 seconds) or short (9-10 seconds). The wind is almost always a light cross-on breeze. The energy is moderate, but the quality is poor. The setup is starting to look more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing, because the wind is consistent but not clean for waves.

The one true standout, if you can call it that, is right at the end. On Friday, August 21st, the afternoon session shows a 3ft swell from the SSW with a long 17-second period. The wind is light and cross-on from the WNW at 6 mph. The combined energy is strong (852). It’s the best energy we see in the whole run. Saturday morning, August 22nd, is also a marginal call, with a 3ft swell from the SSW, a 15-second period, and a light cross-on breeze from the west. The energy is moderate (502). The crowds are often a problem at Saint Annes, so if you’re going to paddle out, get there early. But honestly, it’s a long wait for a marginal outlook. The waves are just too small and the wind too messy for anything clean. The whole second week is a struggle, with the same pattern of small, poor quality surf. The only glimmer is that late August window, but it’s a hope, not a certainty.

Rusty.

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