Swanage Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Gotta be straight with you – looking at the Swanage forecast for the next couple of weeks, and it’s a tough watch. There’s a big old gap of nothing happening, so don’t bother checking the cam for a while.

The first real chance to even think about getting wet doesn’t come until Tuesday morning, the 25th of August. We see a bit of a push from an easterly swell, but it’s a messy, short-period windswell at just 6 seconds, bumping up to about 4ft. The wind is howling onshore from the ENE at 19 mph, so it’s gonna be blown out and lumpy. The combined energy is a meagre 127, which tells you it’s weak and unorganized. Honestly, this is a write-off for a proper surf. If you’re desperate, maybe, but don’t expect any joy.

The next window pops up on Thursday afternoon, the 27th of August. We get a cleaner look with a cross-offshore breeze from the SSW at 16 mph. Swell bumps up a bit to 5ft out of the SW, but the period is still a short 6 seconds. The energy reading jumps to 195, which is moderate, but it’s just not a nice wave. It’s a poor surf call again.

Friday the 28th of August afternoon sees a bigger pulse – 5ft from the SW with a 9-second period and a cross-offshore wind from the WSW at 22 mph. The energy jumps significantly to 487, which is strong. It’s clean, but the wave quality is still listed as poor. Might be a bit of a close-out machine.

Then we get into the weekend. Saturday morning, the 29th of August, is probably the standout for the whole outlook, and that’s not saying a whole lot. We’ve got a 7ft swell from the WSW with a clean offshore wind from the west at 19 mph. The period is a weak 6 seconds, but the energy is a solid 305. It’s gonna be clean on the face, but that short period means it’ll be a bit fat and hard to get into. By Saturday afternoon, the wind picks up to a strong 25 mph offshore, the swell hits 7ft, and energy is 424. It’s clean but powerful and a bit of a handful – that’s expert territory only. This is the only period that looks even remotely surfable for a competent surfer, but don’t get your hopes up.

After that, it’s back to flatness or tiny, messy drivel for over a week. There’s a tiny bump of 0.3ft with a super long 14-second period on the 4th of September, but the energy is only 6 – totally weak.

Then, right at the tail end, on Sunday the 6th of September afternoon, we see another spike: 8ft from the SW, 7-second period, and a clean offshore wind from the WSW at 22 mph. Energy is a very strong 476. But again, short period, and it’s over two weeks out, so take it with a pinch of salt.

Overall, the combined energy figures are mostly in the low two-digit range (weak) or the low three-digit range (moderate), apart from a few bursts. For a spot that’s rarely breaking, this is a pretty normal blank run. Don’t hold your breath.

Stay salty,
Rusty

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