Swanage Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s be straight with you – this is a tough one. The next 16 days for the Swanage area are looking pretty grim. We’ve got a long stretch of flat, weak, or just plain messy conditions. There’s no standout swell to speak of.

The first proper surf on offer is a tiny pulse on Sunday morning, July 19th. We’re talking a 2ft swell from the east, with a short, weak period of 4 seconds. The combined energy is a measly 7 (very weak). It’s not going to be pretty. The water temperature is 67°, which is a full 6° warmer than average for this time of year – that’s very unusual, something to note. But the wind is a cross-onshore breeze at 12 mph, and the report says "poor surf conditions" and "choppy." Honestly, I’d give it a miss.

We then hit a flat spell from Sunday afternoon right through to the end of July. There’s next to nothing. A few tiny 0.3ft pulses from the west with long periods (12 seconds) show up, but the combined energy is in the single digits (3-5). The wind is often cross-off or clean, but with zero swell, you’re just looking at a flat ocean.

The first week of August doesn’t offer much relief. There’s a tiny uptick on the morning of Sunday, August 2nd, with a 2ft easterly swell and a 4-second period, but the combined energy is only 10 (weak). The morning is glassy, which is a positive, but that swell is barely a ripple.

The best we can see in the whole window is on Monday morning, August 3rd. A 2ft swell from the east, period of 5 seconds, with a combined energy of 24 (still weak). The wind is light and cross-onshore from the northeast at 6 mph. It’s the biggest wave height we get, but it’s still just a knee-high, weak, short-period windswell. The afternoon on the 3rd has a similar 2ft swell from the east.

For a break like Swanage – which rarely breaks and is very sheltered – this blank run is pretty normal for the area. The setup is so sheltered that it needs a very specific alignment to work. The crowds are only "sometimes" an issue, but that’s because there’s rarely anything to ride.

So, to wrap it up: the whole 16 days is a dustbowl. The only thing that even looks like a surfable wave is that tiny 2ft bump on August 3rd, but it’s only for beginners or longboarders looking for a very gentle paddle. Don’t get your hopes up.

Rusty.

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