Salcombe Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Gotta be straight with you – it’s a lean patch for Salcombe in the next 16 days. No standout waves on offer, and a lot of the time we’re just watching the tide move. But let’s walk through what’s actually happening.

The pattern starts with a big gap. Through the end of August and right into early September, it’s mostly poor surf conditions. We’ve got some small pulses from the west and southwest, but the winds keep messing things up. The first few days are all cross-onshore or onshore, making a mess of that tiny 1 ft to 4 ft swell. The combined swell energy is weak to moderate at best – only pushing into the 100s (175) on the Tuesday afternoon, but it’s choppy with an easterly breeze. Not worth paddling out.

Wednesday the 26th and Thursday the 27th are tiny and wobbly. Friday the 28th morning looks *almost* promising – a clean 3 ft west-southwest swell with a cross-offshore breeze – but at 156 energy, it’s barely a ripple. Then the weekend gets ugly: strong 40-45 km/h winds on Saturday the 29th whipping up an 8 ft slop. That’s expert-only territory, and the 662-803 energy is just raw windswell. On Sunday the 30th, the 7 ft morning is messy with cross-onshore winds.

The one sliver of hope comes on Monday morning the 31st of August. Offshore wind from the WNW, a clean 3 ft swell from the southwest (145 energy). It’s small, but it’ll be smooth and workable on a longboard. That’s your pick of the early stretch – quiet, no crowds, and a chance to get a few clean ones.

After that, through the first week of September, it stays mediocre. Light winds here and there, but the swell stays small and the winds shift around. The 4th of September has a 5 ft swell with a long period of 11 seconds from the west – that’s a nice groundswell character, but the cross-shore wind keeps it bumpy, and the energy is moderate (493). Not a standout, but it’s the best of the second week.

The highlight of the whole 16 days? If you’re patient, circle Monday morning the 6th of September. It’s tiny – just 2 ft from the west – but the wind goes glassy. Dead calm from the east at 5 km/h. Combined energy is only 69, but that glassy surface and clean conditions at Salcombe mean you can get a glide in with zero fuss. It’s for the mellow session, not a barrel.

Later that week (7th to 9th of September), the swell jumps back up – 10 ft on the 7th and again on the 8th. That’s serious size, and with strong cross-off or cross-shore winds, it’s going to be a washing machine. The 9th morning still has a clean look with 8 ft and 10-second period from the west-southwest, but the energy is high (1086) and it’s really for experienced surfers only in these conditions.

So bottom line: no proper standouts here. The best you’ll get is that tiny glassy session on the 6th of September, or the clean but small morning on the 31st of August. Everything else is blown out or too big for the conditions. Don’t hold your breath, but check back – forecasts can flip.

Rusty.

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