The Breakwater-St Ives Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at the next couple of weeks for the St Ives area.

Overall, it's a pretty frustrating run ahead. We’ve got swell sticking around for a while, but the wind is the real villain here – blowing from the wrong direction for most of it. There are a few windows where things clean up, but you’ll have to be patient. Right now, the water temp is sitting at 63°, which is a touch warmer than normal for this time of year, so at least the rubber game is a bit more comfortable.

The first real chance to get something decent doesn't come until Sunday, September 20th. Up until then, it's pretty grim. We see proper swell on the 12th and 13th, with waves up to 6ft, but the wind is a fresh cross-off at 19 mph or a cross-shore breeze, so it’s messy. The energy is moderate, hitting 267 on Saturday but it’s just not clean. By Monday the 14th the swell drops to 4ft, and that cross-off breeze is still too strong to make it fun. Tuesday the 15th sees a bump back up to 6ft from the WNW, but the wind is a full-on cross-onshore at 19 mph, making it lumpy. That lumpy theme carries right through until Saturday the 19th, with the swell hanging around 5ft to 6ft but always on the wrong wind.

Now, for the highlight. The first standout is the early session on Sunday, September 20th at The Breakwater-St Ives. We get a clean offshore breeze from the SSW at 12 mph, with a nice 3ft swell rolling in from the WNW. The period stretches out to 14 seconds, which is proper long-period groundswell. That means good shaped waves but with longer lulls between sets. The energy is moderate (277), but with light offshores and clean conditions, this is the morning to go. It won’t be huge, but it will be the best quality we’ve seen by a long shot.

That same day, the afternoon gets a bit feral again with a big 8ft pulse from the west, but the cross-off wind goes to 19 mph and makes it a marginal choice. Only for the experienced crew.

Then on Monday, September 21st, we get another couple of good windows. The morning session serves up 5ft from the west at 11 seconds, with a light cross-off breeze at only 6 mph, making for clean conditions. The energy is moderate (512). The afternoon also looks fun, with 4ft from the same direction and light winds again. This is a solid, surfable day.

After that, it fades. Tuesday the 22nd is small and ordinary, and from Wednesday the 23rd through to the end of the run at the end of September, the swell drops right off to under 3ft and the energy falls into the weak zone. There’s nothing worth mentioning for the last week of the outlook.

So, keep your eyes on Sunday, September 20th for the morning glass-off, and Monday, September 21st for the best combination of size and clean conditions. The rest of the time, it’s a battle with the wind.

Later, Rusty.

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