The Breakwater-St Ives Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let's have a look at what The Breakwater-St Ives has got cookin' for us over the next couple of weeks. To be straight with you, it's a pretty quiet start. We've got a long stretch of small, choppy, and messy surf coming up, so don't be in a rush to grab your board just yet.

From Saturday the 22nd right through to Wednesday the 27th of August, it's a write-off. We're looking at weak swell, barely pushing 2ft, and the wind is all over the place – cross-on, cross-shore, all of it messy. The combined swell energy is weak, ranging from just 24 up to a middling 105, but it's not enough to get excited about. It's a solid gap of about 5 days where the conditions are just poor.

Now, things get interesting, but a bit wild, on Thursday the 27th. We get a sudden jump in size to 10ft on the Thursday morning, but it's from the west with a short period of 8 seconds. That's a lot of lumpy, crumbly water. The combined energy is a very strong 1055, but the quality is marginal, best left for the experts if anyone's keen. The wind is cross-offshore though, so it'll be clean, just a bit of a beast. That afternoon it drops to 7ft with a 7-second period – lumpy and cross-shore. Not our finest hour.

We get a bit of a breather on Friday the 28th, but the swell is funky, with an 8ft NNW swell in the afternoon that's all short-period chop. Then into the weekend of the 29th and 30th, we see the best of the first week. Saturday the 29th morning is still big at 8ft with a 10-second period from the west (combined energy 1648), but it's lumpy. The real standout is Saturday afternoon, August 29th. The swell drops to a more manageable 4ft from the WSW with a 10-second period, and we get clean conditions with a gentle cross-offshore breeze from the SW. The combined energy is still a healthy 881, and the surf is expected to be very good. For a point break like this, a solid 4ft WSW groundswell with light wind is a treat. It'll be clean, lined up, and worth the paddle.

Sunday the 30th offers a small window too, with a 4ft west swell and a moderate offshore wind in the morning, giving us decent, clean waves. After that, the wind picks up again and the surf gets messy through to the start of September.

Now, here's where the long-range forecast gets a bit spicy. After another small spell, we've got a major pulse arriving on Wednesday, September 2nd. This is for the experienced crew only. We're talking 10 to 12ft of west-southwest swell with a 10 to 11-second period. The combined swell energy is off the charts, between 1576 and 2384 – that's a lot of water moving. The wind is offshore from the south, so the faces will be clean, but at this size, The Breakwater is going to be a heavy, powerful wave. It's definitely too big for beginners and most intermediates. This wave is predicted to be too big for the break, so you'd better know your limits. This big energy continues through Thursday the 3rd with similar size and clean conditions, but again, it's time for the big dogs. After that, it fades back into a messy, onshore slop for the end of the run.

So, if you're looking for the best of the best, I'd circle Saturday afternoon, August 29th. That's your clean, fun-sized window. For the brave, Wednesday and Thursday, September 2nd and 3rd are promising for big-wave chargers, but that's a long way out and a bit less certain. Keep an eye on the sky.

Rusty.

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