The Breakwater-St Ives Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s chew the fat on The Breakwater-St Ives for the next couple of weeks. I’ll level with you – we’re looking at a long, grim stretch before anything worth talking about arrives. The forecast is a tough pill to swallow, with a run of poor conditions that lasts a good ten days or more.

We kick off with tiny, weak surf. Wednesday (26th) and Thursday (27th) are flat-out not worth it, with waves barely 2ft from the west and a short 8-second interval. The wind is cross-offshore, so the surface might look clean, but there’s zero juice – combined swell energy is a low 55. Water temp is right around the average for this time of year, a normal 63°F.

From Friday (28th) onward, the swell builds but the wind turns nasty. Near gale-force and strong breezes out of the southwest batter the coast for days. Swell size kicks up over 8ft, but with a short, raggedy period (7-9 seconds) and messy cross-off winds, the quality is garbage. Saturday afternoon (29th) sees a massive 12ft swell from the WSW with a combined energy of 1742 – but with a 31 mph near gale screaming, that’s only for the kite surfers or absolute madmen. It’s raw, powerful, and ugly.

Finally, a light at the end of the tunnel. Saturday, 5th September. By the afternoon, the wind swings light and offshore from the south at just 3 mph. Swell holds at a clean 6ft from the west with a lovely long 11-second period – proper groundswell. That’s the one to circle on the calendar. Combined swell energy sits at 755, a solid moderate-to-strong pulse, and with glassy conditions, the wave quality should be magic. This is a point break, so that long-period west swell should wrap in nicely. It’s a week and a half out, so keep your fingers crossed, but it’s the only real hope in the outlook.

The rest of the second week fades back into onshore breezes and smaller, shorter-period slop. Nothing else worth getting wet for.

Rusty.

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