Swanage Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Right, grab a coffee, let’s have a look at the next couple of weeks for Swanage.

To be straight with you, this is a tough stretch for surf. The finder is showing a big fat zero across the board for any decent recommendation for the entire 16 days. There is nothing that’s going to be worth paddling out for properly. We’re looking at a real blank run here, and for this area, that’s not too out of the ordinary, but it’s still a bummer.

The water is currently 69°, which is a massive 7° warmer than usual for the time of year. That’s really unusual, so at least when you’re sitting there staring at flat waves, you won’t be cold.

For the first week, from the 14th through to the 21st, it’s just tiny. We’re talking knee-high slop at best, with weak energy readings of 15 (that’s really weak). Friday the 14th has a little 0.7ft to 2ft west swell, but it’s minimal. Saturday the 15th, there’s a 2ft north windswell with a short 4-second period, but it’s cross-shore and chopped. A couple of mornings, like the 20th, turn glassy, but with only a 1ft swell and a 5-second period, it’s just not doing anything. The period is too short to have any push, and it’s breaking straight anyway. You’d be fighting for a dribble.

There’s a bit of a lull from Monday the 17th through to Tuesday the 19th, where the energy drops to nothing (0). It’s just flat, with clean westerly winds, but no waves to blow on. That gap feels longer than it is because there’s just nothing to get excited about.

Around the 23rd and 24th, a bit of easterly windswell shows up, but the wind is onshore and blowing 19-28 mph, so it’s going to be messy, lumpy, and bumpy. The energy bumps up to 54-58, which is still weak, and with a 5-second period, you’re just getting chopped-up closeouts. I wouldn’t bother. It’s more like a wind-blown washing machine than a surfable wave.

The first real pulse of energy comes in on Friday the 28th of August. It’s still weeks away, but the models are showing a surge. Swell jumps to 8ft out of the southwest with a period of 7 seconds. Combined energy is strong, hitting 758 and then 1224 on Friday afternoon. That’s proper energy. But here’s the catch: the wind is an onshore mess, with 28 mph gusts. This setup looks a lot more interesting for the kite crew than for paddle surfing. It’s just going to be a big, wind-blown, cross-onshore mess. Saturday the 29th drops a touch to 8ft, but still with strong cross-shore winds. For the experts only if you’re desperate out back, but the quality isn’t going to be there.

So that’s it. As I said, it’s a tough run. The 28th and 29th have size, but the wind won’t play ball. Keep an eye on it, because things can change, but for the next fortnight, the board stays in the car.

Rusty.

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