Salcombe Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, folks, Rusty here. Let's be straight with you. The next couple of weeks around Salcombe are looking pretty grim for a proper surf. The finder is coming up empty, and honestly, the guidance backs that up. It’s one of those stretches where the ocean just doesn’t want to cooperate. The swell and wind are constantly fighting each other, and we’re left with a lot of chop and crumble. It’s a bit of a blank run, which happens here, but it doesn’t look like it’s gonna stay this way forever. The forecasts can shift.

Looking at the start of the period, through the coming days, it’s all pretty weak and messy. There’s a bit of swell on Friday the 21st, around 3ft from the west with a period of 9 seconds. The wind is cross-offshore in the morning, but the energy is weak, only about 145, and the call is poor surf. Saturday and Sunday have some waves, but the winds are all over the place and onshore, just chopping it all up. Nothing to get excited about.

We get a pulse of easterly windswell on Monday the 24th, with the swell jumping to 7ft in the morning and 8ft in the afternoon, which could be fun for someone, but with a 28 mph onshore wind, it's going to be a complete mess. Not a surfer's wave. That’s a strong 624 in the energy department, but it’s wasted. The following days are a similar story, with onshore winds keeping things poor. The only time we see some clean conditions is later, but the swell is too small to be worth the paddle.

There is a notable bump on Friday the 28th of August, in the afternoon. The swell jumps to 10ft with period 8 seconds. That’s a heavy amount of energy, reading 1132 in the combined figures, and the wind is cross-offshore, which would normally get the heart racing. But the call is still poor surf conditions. This is a short-period, wind-driven swell, and at that size, it’s only for experts. If it wasn't for the rating, I'd say the setup looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing.

The long-range stuff in the second week is less reliable, and nothing really shouts standout. We'll see some moderate pulses on the 30th and 31st, with 7ft swells, but the winds keep it junky. The glassy conditions on Thursday the 3rd of September with light winds will be nice, but the swell has all but disappeared, only 0.3ft. It’s a quiet end to the window.

Honestly, the best of a bad bunch looks like the Saturday the 29th of August morning, with a 5ft west swell and clean, cross-offshore winds. It won't be world-class, but it should be the most rideable we get. Then again, it's still not a high recommendation. Don't get your hopes too high for this one. This is a a real dud, so maybe work on your pop-ups.

Stay safe out there.

Rusty.

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