The Breakwater-St Ives Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, let’s get into it. The whole 16-day window is a tough one for The Breakwater-St Ives. There are no standout sessions where everything comes together, so we’re going to go through the period and see what’s actually on offer.

The first stretch is a write-off. From Saturday the 18th right through to the middle of the following week, it’s all poor surf conditions. We’ve got a mix of weak, short-period swell from the north, mostly onshore or cross-off winds, and the combined wave energy is weak, sitting in the 50 to 105 range. The water temperature is 63°, which is a touch warmer than normal for this time of year. Honestly, don’t bother paddling out around here for that first week – it’s flat and messy.

Then we hit a gap. There’s a real lull from about Thursday the 24th through to Saturday the 26th of July. The swell drops to almost nothing – 0.3 ft to 0.7 ft – with long periods but no height. The wind is strong and cross or cross-on, with the combined energy barely reaching the twenties. It’s a dead zone for surfing.

Things start to pick up on Monday the 27th of July. The swell jumps to 6 ft, from the west, with a period of 7 seconds. The combined energy moves into the moderate range (263). But the wind is cross-on or cross, and it’s choppy. The surf is still poor; it’s not clean enough to get excited about. This pattern continues through Tuesday the 28th, with the swell sitting around 5 ft to 5 ft from the west, and the energy hitting 387 to 416. Still, the wind is onshore, so it’s not great.

The middle of the second week, from Wednesday the 29th of July onwards, sees a bigger pulse of swell. On Wednesday the 29th, the swell is 6 ft from the west-northwest, with a period of 7 seconds, and a combined energy of 348. The wind goes light and cross-shore, which is a bit better, but the forecast is only marginal. It’s a bigger, more powerful swell, but the short period and cross-shore wind mean it’s not dialled. The Breakwater is a point break, so it needs the right direction – ideally northwest – and the wind to be offshore from the south. This is a far cry from that.

The end of the forecast period, from Thursday the 30th of July through to Sunday the 2nd of August, has the most size. We’re seeing 7 ft to 8 ft from the west and west-northwest, with periods of 8 to 10 seconds. The combined energy gets strong, hitting 437 and climbing to 821 on Saturday the 1st of August. But the wind is consistently cross or cross-off, and the surf quality is still poor or marginal. For a point break, this size with a cross-shore wind is not ideal for clean waves. It’s big enough to be only for experienced surfers, and the crowds are listed as “sometimes,” so you might have company, but the quality just isn’t there.

If you’re looking for the best of a bad bunch, the mornings of Thursday the 31st of July and Friday the 1st of August are the closest we get. On the 31st, the swell is 8 ft from the west-northwest, with a period of 8 seconds, and a combined energy of 766. The wind is a gentle cross-shore. It’s the most energy we see, but it’s still marginal. The 1st of August has 7 ft from the west-northwest, a 10-second period, and energy of 821, but with a moderate cross-shore wind. Both are big, powerful, but not clean. If you’re an expert and you’re desperate, you might get some lumpy, challenging waves, but don’t expect a classic day at The Breakwater.

For the most part, this forecast looks more interesting for kite surfers than paddle surfers, given the strong cross-shore winds and the solid swell size. The consistent onshore and cross-shore wind is the killer here.

Rusty.

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