The Breakwater-St Ives Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Right, let’s have a look at what’s on the cards for The Breakwater-St Ives. To be honest, it’s a bit of a rough stretch ahead. For the next week or so, we’re looking at a lot of poor conditions. The swell is there at times, but the wind’s all over the place and the quality just isn’t happening. There’s a lot of chop and cross-shore junk to fight through.

Looking at the start of this, from Thursday the 27th, it’s small and clean but just not breaking with any real push. You’ve got 1ft to 2ft of swell with a gentle breeze, but it’s not worth the paddle. The energy is weak, sitting at 20. This carries into Friday morning, but then the swell starts to build and the wind jumps up. By Friday afternoon, it’s a fresh breeze and 7ft of short-period swell, but it’s messy and the energy is moderate at 401. Saturday gets bigger with 8ft and wind ramping up to a strong breeze, and by Saturday afternoon we’re looking at a solid 10ft of west swell with a massive energy reading of 1629. That’s a lot of water moving, but it’s cross-shore and lumpy as hell. This is more of a washing machine than a wave.

The gap of proper, clean surf is pretty long here. We’ve got days of this strong, wind-blown stuff, and while there’s swell on Sunday the 30th at 6ft and 8ft, it’s still with a fresh cross-off breeze and the energy is moderate to strong. It just isn’t nice. Monday the 31st is bigger again, but it’s choppy and cross-onshore. Not good. Tuesday and Wednesday are smaller, but the wind is still messing things up.

Now, here’s where the one standout moment in the whole 16-day stretch is. Saturday the 5th of September. The morning has 8ft of west swell with a long 11-second period. The energy is very strong at 1872, and the wind is a light cross-shore. It’s a bit marginal, but it’s the first real sign of life. The afternoon is the one to circle on the calendar, though. The swell jumps to 12ft from the WSW, the energy is still massive at 1493, and it goes glassy. The comment says it all: wind and tide are favorable, but the swell is just too big for this break. This spot is fairly exposed, and 12ft is a lot of water. For an intermediate spot, it’s going to be a washing machine. For the experts, it could be a proper, heavy session, but you’re going to need your big board and your wits about you. This is the one true standout, but it’s a caveat-laden one.

After that, things settle down but don’t really get good again. The 6th of September has clean 8ft swell with a 10-second period and a cross-off breeze, but it’s rated marginal. The energy is still strong at 985. It’s okay, but not that Saturday afternoon calibre. From the 7th onwards, it’s dropping back down and the wind is on it again. By Thursday the 10th and Friday the 11th, we’re back to tiny, weak surf with energy readings down in the 70s and 140s. A complete fade out.

Right, final call. The water temp is 63°F and the anomaly is 1°F, so pretty normal for the time of year.

Overall, this is a tough outlook. There’s a long stretch of nothing rideable, and the one potentially epic window is too big for the average punter. The Breakwater is a point break, so with these longer-period swells it might be a bit too straight, but the sheer size on that Saturday afternoon is the only thing that gets the heart rate up. For the majority, you’re probably better off keeping the board in the car for a while. Rusty out.

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