Scratby Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let me level with you about Scratby. Looking at the whole 16-day stretch, I gotta be honest, it’s a tough watch. We've got a long, dry gap of zero to tiny surf from now all the way through to the middle of the month, with only weak, short-period slop that’s just not worth paddling out for.

The first few days, from Friday the 11th through to Sunday the 13th, we're scraping the barrel with ankle-biters – think 0.3 ft to 1.0 ft of weak, short-period windswell. The combined energy is pitiful, barely ticking over (3 to 8). It’s clean enough, with cross-off winds, but there’s simply no push. You’d be floating. That pattern continues into the next week; Monday the 14th brings a tiny pulse (1 ft, 5 seconds), but with combined energy at just 12, it’s barely a ripple.

Tuesday the 15th sees the period jump to 12 seconds, which sounds promising, but it’s still only 0.7 ft and the energy reading is a weak 22. A long period groundswell on no height just means you’ll see a long, slow bump that never breaks. Wednesday and Thursday stay flat or near-flat. This is a proper dead spell.

Things finally look a little more interesting on Friday the 18th. We get a jump to 4 ft from the NNW with a period of 6 seconds and combined energy hitting 186 (moderate). Best of all, the wind swings offshore from the W, blowing at 19 mph. That’s a fresh offshore wind, which will clean things right up, but with that wind strength, it’s going to be a battle to get out. It’s a fickle, inconsistent spot as it is, so this is the only real window of the whole forecast. The water temp is sitting at 65°F, which feels a touch warmer than normal for the time of year.

The second week is messy. We get a bigger pulse on Thursday the 24th with 5 ft from the NE, but it's accompanied by strong onshore wind. By Friday the 25th, we’ve got similar swell (5 ft from NE, 6 seconds, combined energy 222) but with a cross-onshore breeze making it choppy. Saturday the 26th has a 5 ft swell from the ENE with a screaming 31 mph offshore wind. While it’s offshore, that’s near gale force – you’d be mad to try and paddle out. It’s more of a kite surfing setup than a paddle surfing one.

So, the standout? It’s Friday the 18th. If you’re an experienced local who can handle a strong offshore wind and an inconsistent wave, that 4 ft from the NNW with clean conditions is the best we’re going to get. For everyone else, it’s a week and a half of flatness before you even consider it. The long-range stuff around the 25th is promising but less certain, and the winds look like they’ll ruin it.

Rusty, signing off.

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