Swanage Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here, and I gotta level with ya. Right now, for the next 16 days, the swell window is just not doing us any favours at all. We’ve got a long stretch of flatness ahead, especially through the first week and a bit. There’s no solid groundswell rolling in, and the best we can hope for is a few tiny, weak pulses that barely get the board wet. It’s one of those quiet spells where you’re better off leaving the board in the car and just having a paddle.

Let’s run through it. Starting from now, we’ve got a big gap of nothing. Through Friday the 24th, and all of Saturday the 25th, Sunday the 26th, it’s totally flat. That run of zeros stretches right through Monday the 27th and into Tuesday the 28th, with only tiny 1.0 ft to 2 ft dribbles that are barely ridable. The water temp is sitting around 68°, which is 7° warmer than normal—that’s very unusual for the time of year, almost like having summer hang around late.

The only break we’re looking at is Swanage. It’s a very sheltered spot, and honestly, it’s rare to get any proper wave here. It’s inconsistent and breaks rarely, and this forecast proves it. There’s a few days where a tiny bit of west swell tries to show up, but the swell heights are laughable—usually 0.3 ft to 0.7 ft, and the energy is basically zero. The period is short, often under 8 seconds, so no power behind it at all.

The only time we see anything close to a pulse is around Wednesday the 4th of August and Thursday the 5th, when a 2 ft to 3 ft swell from the west-southwest shows up with period around 8 seconds. The wind will be light offshore to cross-off, so the surface might be clean, but the combined energy is still weak. The water temp data isn’t available for those days, but it’s still not enough to call it a proper surf. It’s more of a knee-high dribble for the die-hards.

After that, from the 5th through the 8th, it drops back to flat or tiny 0.7 ft to 1 ft stuff. There’s a bit of offshore wind on the 7th of August—moderate offshore and clean—but the swell is just too small. It’s a real dud of a period.

There are no standouts here to get excited about. With such a consistent run of poor conditions, it’s no surprise for a spot like this. If you’re absolutely desperate and the wind is offshore on the 4th of August, you might find a tiny, clean ankle-biter at Swanage, but don’t hold your breath. Otherwise, the forecast can always change, but for now, it’s a paddling holiday.

Rusty.

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