Salcombe Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, folks, Rusty here. Let’s be straight with you—this forecast for the Salcombe region is a tough read. We’re looking at a solid stretch of days where the ocean just isn’t cooperating for a proper surf. First up, and this is the only day I’m going to talk about water temp, the water’s sitting at a balmy 66°F, which is about 4°F warmer than you’d typically expect for this time of year. That’s a real treat if you can get in, but you’ll mostly be doing it for a swim, not a wave.

The whole 16-day window is a struggle. We’ve got a long, dry spell at the start. For the first couple of days, we're looking at tiny, weak swell and messy winds, so there’s nothing doing. That run of poor conditions stretches on for a while. There’s a slight bump in the swell around the 4th and 5th, with the energy picking up, but the wind is all over the place, making it choppy and messy. Not worth your time.

The weekend of the 7th and 8th drops right off again, with tiny waves and the energy just dying. We do see some glassy conditions on the morning of the 9th, but there's no swell to speak of—just 0.7ft of nothing.

The real issue is the direction. Salcombe is sheltered, and it wants swell from the south. Almost all the energy we see is coming from the west or southwest, which just doesn’t wrap in properly. There’s a little pulse of easterly windswell around the 10th and 11th, but it’s short-period junk, not worth paddling out for.

There’s a pick-up in size starting the 12th with a clean 4ft, but it's still from the west-southwest and the conditions are just... ordinary. We get a bit more size on the 15th, with an offshore wind in the afternoon, but it’s still a messy, cross-shore morning and the swell is short-period. The best of the lot, and I use that term loosely, is the last day, the 16th. We’ve got a building swell from the west, hitting 6ft to 6ft. The morning is clean with light offshore winds, and the afternoon, while windier, stays clean too. But this is still west swell at a spot that wants south. It’s not going to be good, just the least bad option on offer.

Honestly, if you’re desperate, the morning of the 16th is your play. Just keep expectations in the gutter. For everything else, the kites are going to have a better time of it than we are.

Rusty.

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