Salcombe Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G'day, Rusty here, and I've gotta be straight with ya – it's a tough stretch ahead for Salcombe. Looking at the whole 16-day window, there's honestly not a single session that's worth paddling out for. We're staring down the barrel of a flat spell that just keeps on going. The guidance's pick, Salcombe itself, is a sheltered setup that's always crowded and rarely fires, and this forecast is proving why.

Right from Sunday the 5th of July, we're into it. Tiny 2ft west swell with a short 9-second period and cross-off winds. The combined wave energy is a pathetic 83 – that's weak. It's a "poor surf conditions" call right from the start, and mate, it doesn't get any better. The water's a touch warmer than normal for the time of year at 63°, but that's little comfort when there's nothing to ride.

The whole first week is a write-off. Swell hangs around 2ft to 2ft from the west, period never gets above 10 seconds, and the energy barely scrapes past 100 just once on the morning of Friday the 10th of July (107). The winds are mostly cross-off or cross-shore, which keeps the surface clean enough, but with waves that small, it's just a lake. Even when we get a solid offshore breeze from the northwest on Saturday the 11th and Sunday the 12th and into Monday the 13th, the swell is either 2ft or dropping to 1ft – not enough to wrap around into this sheltered spot.

Into the second week, same old story. Monday the 13th brings a shift – a 4ft swell from the northeast but with a shocking 5-second period. That's windswell, short and crumbly, and the cross-shore wind chops it up. The energy is still weak at 93. Nothing changes on Tuesday the 14th: a 1.0ft west swell with a long 12-second period (groundswell) but zero size. By Wednesday the 15th it's a 3ft northeast swell, again with a 5-second period and a gentle cross-onshore breeze – choppy and poor.

The final few days from Thursday the 16th to Monday the 20th are the worst of it. The swell drops to 1ft with periods of 8 seconds or less. The energy bottoms out at 18 on the afternoon of Sunday the 19th July. There's a brief moment on Monday the 20th with a 2ft east swell but the period is a pathetic 4 seconds – useless.

Look, there are zero standouts here. Not one good option in the entire 16-day window. It's a blank run, and for an area like this that's inconsistent and rarely breaks, a stretch like this isn't unusual. The breaks are sheltered, they need a perfect alignment of swell and wind, and we just don't have it. For paddle surfing, it's a no-go. If I were a kite surfer, I'd maybe look at those Wednesday the 15th morning conditions with that 3ft northeast windswell and a gentle cross-onshore, but for a stick and a wetsuit? Save your petrol.

Rusty.

Read more