Salcombe Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let’s be straight with you for Salcombe. We’ve got a sixteen-day window stretching from right now into early September, but there’s a pretty brutal gap at the start. Honestly, the first week or so is a rough one. We don’t get a sniff of anything worth paddling out for until late on the 28th, and even that’s a struggle. The whole run from the 21st right through to the morning of the 28th is a write-off—poor surf conditions day after day, with onshore or cross-onshore winds, short-period windswell, and a lot of lumpy, messy water. Scores are zeros across the board. That’s a solid seven-day gap with no recommendations at all.

Things start to look a little better on Friday the 28th. Salcombe picks up a 7ft swell coming from the WSW with a 7-second period. The wind goes cross-offshore from the west, and the wave comment shifts to “clean.” The combined wave energy hits 353, which is moderate. That’s a solid step up, but that short period means the waves won’t have much shape. It’s still worth a look if you’re keen and the wind is holding. The afternoon gets a strong offshore breeze at 25 mph from the WNW, which cleans it right up but makes paddling a mission. Only for the keen boys.

Now, the real standout in this run lands on Saturday morning the 29th. Salcombe gets a 7ft swell from the WSW, 8-second period, cross-offshore wind from the WSW at 16 mph. Combined energy jumps up to 602 — that’s moderate to strong. The conditions are clean, and the rating finally ticks over to a “1” in the score. This is the best on offer. It’s a solid size, and with cross-off wind, it’ll be lined up. Keep in mind Salcombe is sheltered and inconsistent, and crowds are always a factor here. For a break that rarely fires, this Saturday morning window looks like the session to aim for. That size is in the expert zone—over 7ft—so leave the longboard at home. The swell direction from the WSW lines up nicely with the optimum being south. It’s not bang on, but close enough for a sheltered spot to work.

After that, it fades. Sunday the 30th sees the swell drop to 5-6ft but the wind goes cross and then near-gale by the afternoon. The combined energy is still moderate but the quality goes. The rest of the run into early September is a slow decline back to tiny, weak swell with poor wind. By the 4th and 5th of September we’re down to 2ft or less with short periods and lumpy cross-shore chop. Not worth suiting up.

Water temp isn’t provided for the first break mentioned, so I can’t comment on anomalies here.

So, bottom line: you’ve got a long dry spell, then a promising but uncertain Saturday morning on the 29th. Get on it if you can, but don’t expect much else.

Rusty.

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