The Breakwater-St Ives Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here, with the long-range look at what’s on the cards. Straight up, it’s a bit of a frustrating outlook for The Breakwater-St Ives. We’ve got some decent swell windows, but the wind gods are not playing ball for most of it, so you’ve gotta pick your moments.

The whole 16‑day window kicks off proper on Saturday the 5th of September. That’s the standout, no question. After a few days of messy, strong SSW and WSW winds thrashing the place—with the combined energy hitting a moderate 400 (Wednesday afternoon) and then 309 (Thursday morning) but looking ugly—we finally get a clean-up. Saturday morning drops in with a glassy, slight air wind from the East at just 3 mph. The swell is a clean 5 ft from the WNW, with a period of 11 seconds, giving a combined energy of 494. That’s a proper groundswell pulse, and at a point break with that wind, it’s gonna be gorgeous. If you can only get wet once, that’s your session.

Sunday the 6th though, the wind swings back around and kills it. The swell drops to 2 ft with the energy dropping to 85. The water temp? Well, the anomaly isn’t flagged, so call it about average for the time of year.

Late in the first week, there’s a massive energy spike on Monday the 7th and Tuesday the 8th of September. Monday morning sees a 7 ft groundswell from the West with a very long 13-second period, and the combined energy rockets to 1346. That is *strong* wave energy. But the wind is a cross-onshore from the NW, chopping it up. Same story on Tuesday—6 ft to 6 ft, energy still strong at 1143 and 1026—but still cross-off or cross-off with a moderate breeze. It’s surfable, but it ain’t that clean Saturday glass. The period is still decent (9–10 seconds), so there’s shape, but the chop kills the quality.

By the second week, things flatten right out. Thursday the 10th shows a last gasp of 6 ft from the WNW with a short 7-second period (energy 611), but it’s cross-shore wind. After that, it’s all 2–2 ft dribble with moderate to fresh cross winds, and the combined energy falls below 100 for days. There is a tiny, tiny flicker on Wednesday the 16th of September—a glassy morning with a 1 ft, very long 14-second groundswell (energy 105), but at that size it’s barely a ripple.

Honestly, Saturday the 5th is the clear winner. Everything else is either too windy or too small. If you’re a beginner, the Saturday 5 ft stuff is perfect, and the 2–4 ft on Sunday is fine if you can handle the cross. Anything over 7 ft in that messy wind will only be for the experienced crew. Keep an eye on that Tuesday the 8th—if the wind eases, that 6–6 ft groundswell could clean up, but as it stands, Saturday is your day.

Stay salty,
Rusty

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