The Breakwater-St Ives Surf Break

Lat Long: 50.22° N 5.48° W

The Breakwater-St Ives Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Issued: 12 pm 22 Aug 2026 (local time)

Forecast update in  hr  min

Today's The Breakwater-St Ives sea temperature is
17.4°C
0.5° 

The Breakwater-St Ives surf forecast is for near shore open water. Breaking waves will often be smaller at less exposed spots.


The Breakwater-St Ives surf forecast from 22 Aug 2026:

  • Best quality surf: Thursday 27 Aug, 1AM (local time) - 5ft (1.5m), 8s period, SW swell with cross-offshore winds.
  • Most powerful swell: Friday 28 Aug, 7PM (local time) - 10ft (3.0m), 9s period, W swell with 1,579 kJ wave energy.
  • Next surfable swell (1★+): Thursday 27 Aug, 1AM (local time) - 5ft (1.5m), 8s period with SW swell.

Best Forecast Surf Conditions for The Breakwater-St Ives this week:

The surf forecast for The Breakwater-St Ives over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Thursday (Aug 27) at 1AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 1.5m and 8s period with a secondary swell of 0.4m and 7s. The wind is predicted to be cross-offshore as the swell arrives.

The most powerful waves expected at The Breakwater-St Ives in the next 16 days are 3.0m 9s and forecast to arrive on Friday (Aug 28) at 7PM. Winds are predicted to be cross-shore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 1.2m 7s period and expected on Wednesday (Aug 26) at 10PM.

Wave TypeTime (BST) & Date Wave Height & Period
Next good surf (1 star+) 1AM (Thu 27th Aug)5ft (1.5m) 8s
Best Surf 1AM (Thu 27th Aug)5ft (1.5m) 8s
Most Powerful 7PM (Fri 28th Aug)10ft (3.0m) 9s

Table - best surf conditions forecast for The Breakwater-St Ives over the next 16 days.


The Lowdown

Alright, let’s get into it.

Look, the next couple of weeks are going to be a bit of a head-scratcher for us. There’s plenty of water moving, but it’s mostly going to be messy, blown-out, or just plain weak. We’re going to have to be patient and pick our moments, or we’ll be getting skunked more often than not. The beginning of the run is a total write-off, so don’t even bother waxing up until we get past that first block.

The whole weekend of the 22nd and 23rd is dead. We’re looking at tiny, weak swell – nothing over 2ft – and the wind is blowing onshore or cross-shore, chopping everything up into a mess. You’d be fighting it more than surfing it.

The start of the next week, the 24th and 25th, isn't much better. Swell stays small, and while the wind swings around to a cross-off, which cleans things up a bit, there’s just no power in the water. It’s ankle-biters at best.

We finally see a pulse of real swell arrive on Thursday the 27th. The wave energy jumps to a solid 374, and we get a 6ft SW groundswell. The winds are offshore too, which would normally have me frothing. But the period is only 8 seconds, which is pretty short-period for that size. It’s going to be a bit lumpy and disorganized. It’s promising, but not the cleanest window. And for the love of god, they’ve got thunderstorms forecast, so keep an eye on the sky.

That swell bumps up on Friday the 28th but the quality goes south. It’s getting big – 7 to 10ft – but the wind swings around to the west and goes cross, then cross-off at a solid 19-22 mph. With that short period, this is going to be a wind-blown mess. At this size, with these winds, this is looking way more interesting for the kite crew than for us paddle surfers. The energy is massive though, hitting 1040, so there’s a lot of water moving, just not in a clean, surfable way.

The weekend of the 29th and 30th sees the swell ease back, but the quality remains poor. The wind stays westerly, and the swell drops back to that junky, short-period stuff. We’re back to paddling around looking for a shadow or a bank that’s holding.

Okay, here’s the one, and only one, standout in this whole run. Monday the 31st of August. The wind fucking drops out completely. We’re looking at glassy conditions, with a clean 5ft W swell rolling in and an energy of 354. This is the window to be out at The Breakwater-St Ives (St Ives). It’s a point, and this is the size and clean condition it just loves. The wind is light and variable, so the face should be smooth as glass. It’s inconsistent, that’s the catch, so you’ll be waiting for the sets, and you might be sharing it with a few others who’ve been waiting for a window all week, but it’ll be worth it. This is your morning session.

After that, the surf drops right back down to tiny, onshore slop for the first few days of September. The 1st and 2nd are just poor, with cross-onshore winds and weak swells. Forget it.

The second standout, and it’s a long way out, so treat it with a pinch of salt, is Friday the 4th of September. The forecast is for a glassy morning with a 4ft WNW groundswell. Clean conditions, proper period at 9 seconds. That afternoon it looks even better with a 5ft WNW swell, and the period stretching out to 12 seconds, with a light offshore wind. This is a classic setup for a point break, giving us some proper lined-up waves. It’s a long way off, so we can’t get too excited, but it’s a promising sign that things might be turning around.

The final few days of the forecast, the 5th and 6th, get blown out again with strong SSE winds, so that Friday the 4th looks like our last decent shot in this window.

So, bottom line: it’s a lean couple of weeks. Get on it Monday morning the 31st if you can, and start holding your breath for that Friday the 4th of September. The rest is a whole lot of nothing that’s too big, too sloppy, or too weak to bother with.

Rusty

Short Range Forecast

Mostly dry. Warm (max 20°C on Sun afternoon, min 16°C on Sat morning). Winds increasing (light winds from the E on Sun morning, strong winds from the E by Mon morning).

Days 4-6 Weather Summary

Moderate rain (total 10mm), heaviest on Wed night. Warm (max 21°C on Tue morning, min 16°C on Wed night). Winds decreasing (fresh winds from the ESE on Tue morning, light winds from the SW by Thu night).

Saturday
22
Sunday
23
Monday
24
Tuesday
25
Wednesday
26
Thursday
27
Friday
28
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
AM
PM
Night
Rating
(10 max)
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
2
1
1
0
0
0
Swell
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Height Map
Wave
Height (m)
Direction
Period (s)
0.5
W
10
0.4
W
9
0.6
N
5
0.3
W
9
0.4
WSW
12
0.3
SW
14
0.3
SW
14
0.3
SW
13
0.2
WNW
11
0.5
WNW
10
0.6
WNW
10
0.6
W
9
0.6
W
8
0.5
W
8
1.5
SW
8
1.7
SW
8
1.4
SW
8
1.3
WSW
7
2
W
7
3
W
8
3
W
9
Wave Graph
Metric surfscale
Energy kJ
45
25
15
14
54
38
31
28
12
58
77
59
50
33
289
318
223
158
416
1040
1201
Wind (km/h)
20
NE
20
NNE
20
NE
15
E
20
E
20
E
35
E
40
ESE
30
E
35
ESE
25
SE
15
SSE
15
S
20
S
15
SSE
25
SSW
25
S
10
WSW
35
W
30
WNW
30
WNW
Wind State
cross-on
cross-on
cross-on
cross
cross
cross
cross-off
cross-off
cross
cross-off
cross-off
off
off
off
cross-off
off
off
cross-off
cross-off
cross
cross
High Tide
1:13PM4.00m
2:02AM3.94m
2:43PM4.12m
3:19AM4.15m
3:46PM4.44m
4:12AM4.49m
4:32PM4.83m
4:52AM4.85m
5:09PM5.22m
5:27AM5.19m
5:43PM5.57m
6:00AM5.50m
6:15PM5.85m
Low Tide
7:44PM2.23m
8:26AM2.22m
9:14PM2.06m
9:41AM1.94m
10:14PM1.71m
10:31AM1.56m
10:57PM1.31m
11:10AM1.16m
11:34PM0.93m
11:45AM0.81m
00:07AM0.59m
12:18PM0.52m
00:39AM0.35m
clear
part cloud
part cloud
part cloud
clear
part cloud
part cloud
cloud
part cloud
part cloud
cloud
rain showers
clear
cloud
rain showers
thunderstorm
thunderstorm
clear
rain showers
rain showers
rain showers
<span class="translation_missing" title="translation missing: en.weather_tables.sunrise">Sunrise</span>
6:20
6:22
6:22
6:24
6:26
6:28
6:28
<span class="translation_missing" title="translation missing: en.weather_tables.sunset">Sunset</span>
8:28
8:25
8:23
8:22
8:20
8:17
8:15
 mm
2
5
2
1
3
1
1
Temp °C
18
17
17
19
20
17
19
19
19
21
21
19
20
21
17
20
19
17
18
18
17
Feels °C
15
14
13
16
16
14
11
11
14
17
18
19
18
18
14
15
15
16
13
13
12
  • Map Icons:
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  • Live Wave Height (m)
  • Live Wind Speed (km/h)
  • Surf Rating (10 Max)
  • Ocean Swells (m)
  • Wind Speed (km/h)
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Information about the The Breakwater-St Ives Surf forecast

The above surf forecast table for The Breakwater-St Ives provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at The Breakwater-St Ives can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our The Breakwater-St Ives surf forecast is unique since it includes wave energy (power) that defines the real feel of the surf rather than just the height or the period. If you surf the same spot (The Breakwater-St Ives) regularly then make a mental note of the wave energy from the surf forecast table each time you go. Very soon you may start to choose your surf days based on the wave energy alone combined with our forecast of favourable offshore wind conditions. Our star ratings will help here and of course you will also find the usual wave height and period predictions on our surf forecasts as well as a full break down of the swell components under our advanced users option (to reveal that, click the little Einstein character under the tide times).

Further information to help with frequently asked questions about our surf forecast for The Breakwater-St Ives may be found under the help tab on the top menu and also by moving your mouse over the question marks on the surf forecast table itself. Please always bear in mind that the forecast is for near-shore open water and local factors at each surf break influence the actual breaking wave height, such as the beach / reef profile, water depths offshore and shelter.

The Breakwater-St Ives is 11 km (7 miles) from Camborne. If you plan a holiday in North Cornwall, look for hotels and other accommodation in Camborne. Camborne has rooms for a wide range of budgets as well as car hire and transport links.

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