Sutton-on-Sea Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s be honest right from the start – this is a grim outlook for Sutton-on-Sea. The whole 16-day window is a write-off for any decent surf. I can’t find a single standout session, and there’s no real build-up to anything promising.

The first surfable suggestion doesn’t even appear until the morning of the 9th of September, and even then, it’s poor. The water at Sutton-on-Sea is sitting at 65°F with an anomaly of 6°F – that’s much warmer than normal for this time of year, but it’s not exactly helping the waves.

Let’s run through the whole sorry mess. The first real bit of size comes on the morning of Wednesday the 9th of September. You’ve got a 4ft swell from the north with a period of 9 seconds, and the combined energy is moderate at 235 (moderate wave energy). The wind is a moderate cross-offshore from the northwest, so it’s clean. But the water temp data is missing for most of this period, so we can’t track that. Even then, the wave comment says “poor surf conditions.” The 3ft on the afternoon of the 9th from the NNE with a light cross-on breeze is messy.

From Thursday the 10th onwards, it’s a slow death. The swell drops to 2ft and then 2ft with weak energy readings (43 and 33). The wind stays cross-off or clean, but there’s just no push. The 0.3ft to 0.7ft days that follow through the weekend are a complete flat spell. You’ll be staring at a lake-like ocean.

There’s a little flicker on Tuesday the 15th with a 2ft swell from the north and a 6-second period, but the wind is a fresh offshore 22 mph. That’s strong, but it’s just too small to do anything with. The combined energy is only 20 (weak wave energy). The long period swell (14 seconds) on the afternoon of the 13th of September is a tease – 0.3ft with a very long period, but that’s not enough to break anywhere. The same goes for the 13-second swells on the 14th and 21st. They’d be better on a reef or point, but the size is non-existent.

The rest of the forecast is a wasteland of 0.3ft to 1ft swells, weak energy, and offshore winds that do nothing but blow over a flat ocean. The morning of the 17th of September even shows a dash for the swell height – that’s a zero. There’s a slight uptick on the afternoon of the 17th and the 20th, but with 3ft and 2ft swells of short period, it’s just not worth getting wet for. The wind on the 18th of September gets up to 25 mph from the SSW, but the swell is 1ft – that’s kite-surfing weather, not for paddling.

Honestly, if you’re desperate, the best of a bad bunch is the 4ft on the 9th of September, but even that’s a stretch. This is a long, blank run for the area. It’s a normal part of the season, but it doesn’t make it any easier. For now, keep the board in the shed and wait for the forecasts to change.

Rusty.

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