Scratby Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, folks, Rusty here. Let’s have a real honest look at what’s coming down the line for us.

Honestly, this is a tough stretch. The next week and a half is looking pretty grim for any decent surf. We’ve got a long gap with no real recommendations at all from now through to the middle of the month. The wind is just relentless – mostly onshore or cross-onshore, choppy, lumpy, and messy. The water is sitting at 65° on Friday the 10th, which is a whopping 5° warmer than normal for this time of year – that’s very unusual, feels like a warm bath, but it’s not making the waves any better.

The first real hint of something half-decent doesn't pop up until Monday the 20th at Scratby. After a solid blank run of ten days with nothing but “poor surf conditions”, we finally get a little pulse. The morning on the 20th sees a small 3ft swell from the north, period of 7 seconds, with a cross-offshore wind. Combined energy is weak (67). The wave comment calls it “surfable waves but very ordinary conditions.” That’s not a compliment, it’s just the best of a bad bunch. It’s a beginner spot, so you won’t get in over your head, but don’t expect any magic. Tuesday the 21st offers a tiny clean 3ft from the NNW in the afternoon, but with combined energy down to 54, it’s barely a ripple.

The only thing that gets my pulse going even a little is the end of the second week. Saturday the 19th shows a 5ft to 5ft north swell with a period of 6–7 seconds, and the winds finally go cross-offshore from the NNW. The combined energy on Saturday afternoon hits 160 – that’s moderate, actually. The morning of Sunday the 19th has even more push at 5ft, but with a strong breeze. These are bigger waves (5ft to 5ft), but still messy and short-period, so it’s more about grunt than grace. It's too much for beginners at 5ft, but for the experienced crew, it might offer a few lumpy, punchy walls. The big caveat here is the short period (6-7 seconds) means it’ll be a bit crumbly and not hold its shape well.

To be brutally honest, if you’re paddling, the whole 16-day window is a write-off. The only time there’s any size and clean-ish wind is that weekend of the 19th/20th, and even then it’s short-period and messy. Honestly, with the strong cross-offshore winds and the lumpy, short-period swell, the beach setup at Scratby over the weekend of the 19th looks way more interesting for a kite surfer than a paddle surfer. They’ll love that grunt.

So, there’s no real standout in this outlook. The best you’ll get is a couple of “ordinary” days. It’s one of those stretches where you just wait for the next forecast change.

Rusty.

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