The Breakwater-St Ives Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, let’s talk The Breakwater-St Ives over the next 16 days. Honestly, it’s a tough outlook. First week’s basically a total loss with poor surf, and even when a little wave pops up, the wind’s usually all wrong. You’re looking at a long stretch of almost nothing worth paddling for until the last couple of days.

Saturday 1 August starts flat and messy. A tiny 0.5m W swell with a 9-second period on Saturday afternoon, but that NNW wind kills it. Sunday’s even smaller at 0.5m and then 0.3m, wind’s cross-off early then onshore, so forget it. Monday morning 3 August bumps up to 0.9m from the WSW (period 8 seconds), with a light S offshore – that’s the cleanest we’ve seen, but still rated poor with weak combined swell energy of just 106. Water temp is a touch warmer than normal at 65°, so you won’t need a thick suit, but the surf’s just not there.

From Tuesday 4 August through Monday 10 August, the swell stays under 1.3m but the wind is cross-off or cross-on, often fresh, making the surface a chop-fest. Nothing to get excited about. The break’s inconsistent anyway, and this run just proves it.

Tuesday 11 August sees a tiny 0.5m W groundswell with a 10-second period, but the wind’s cross, creating a cross-chop. Wednesday 12 August morning finally gets a pulse: 1.3m from the WSW (period 8 seconds) with combined energy of 283 (moderate), but the WNW cross-on breeze ruins it – rated marginal at best. Thursday 13 August morning is the one highlight: glassy conditions with a light WSW glass-off, and the swell is 1.2m WSW at 8 seconds, energy of 183. That’s the first real clean window, but it’s still just ordinary surf.

Friday 14 August gets messy again, Saturday 15 August has rain showers and 40 km/h cross-off wind – not for surfing, more like kite-surfing territory with that strong breeze and 1.4m swell. Saturday afternoon wind swings NNW at 35 km/h, cross-on and lumpy.

Now, Sunday 16 August morning is a standout in size: 2.3m from the WNW with period 8 seconds and energy of 605 (strong). But cross-on wind and poor surf conditions mean that’s expert-only at best. Sunday afternoon cleans up a bit with a 2.4m WNW swell (period 8 seconds, energy 730) and a moderate W cross-off wind, rated marginal but cleaner. That’s the only time in the whole 16-day window where there’s some real power, but it’s still not good quality due to the wind and short period.

Bottom line: the best bet is that Thursday 13 August morning glass-off with 1.2m WSW – clean but small. The other possible is Sunday 16 August afternoon if you’re an expert and don’t mind the tricky conditions. Crowds are only sometimes a problem, but with such a lack of swell, you’ll probably have the place to yourself. For the rest, it’s a long dry spell of poor to flat days.

Rusty.

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