The Breakwater-St Ives Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Right then, let’s have a look at what’s on offer. To be honest with you, it’s a pretty bleak picture for the next couple of weeks at The Breakwater-St Ives. This is a classic point break setup, but the charts are showing next to nothing in the way of proper surf. For the vast majority of the 16-day window, the conditions are just poor, with onshore or cross-onshore winds and small, weak swell. We’re looking at a long stretch of days with nothing worth paddling out for.

Friday the 14th is a write-off. Tiny 3ft swell from the west with a short 9-second period and a moderate cross-onshore breeze. It’s not even worth checking. Saturday the 15th is worse, with a strong onshore wind ruining any chance of a clean wave. Sunday the 16th through to Monday the 24th is more of the same—small, weak, and messy. The combined swell energy is mostly under 100 (moderate energy) for most of that period, which tells you there’s just no power in the water. There’s a bit more size from the 19th to the 21st, with the swell pushing up to 4ft to 6ft, but the wind is straight onshore or cross-onshore, making it lumpy and choppy. Not for us.

Then from the 22nd right through to the 26th of August, the swell drops right off again, with heights barely scraping 2ft. The combined energy values are low, mostly below 100 (weak energy). There’s one brief moment on the morning of the 26th where the wind goes glassy (SE 5 km/h), which would make for a pretty surface, but the swell is only 1ft with a long 10-second period. You’d be bobbing around on a lake.

Now, the only glimmer of something interesting comes on Thursday the 27th of August. The swell suddenly jumps to 5ft from the west with a 9-second period. The wind is a clean cross-offshore from the ESE at 30 km/h, which should make for some clean faces. The combined energy spikes to 408 (strong wave energy). This is the closest we get to a standout, but honestly, at 5ft with a 9-second period, it’s not a classic point break wave. It’s a bit too short-period for a point, which often makes it a bit fat and sectiony. Still, if you’re desperate, the Thursday morning session is the only time in the whole 16 days where the wind is actually clean. By Friday the 28th, it’s all over again.

So, if you’re an intermediate surfer, this is a blank run. The Breakwater is inconsistent at the best of times, and this forecast is about as poor as it gets. For a point break, we need a longer period swell from the north-west to really come alive, and we just don’t get one in this window. Honestly, this setup looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing when the wind gets up. The best advice? Wait for the next forecast.

Rusty

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