The Maze (Tiree) Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s break down what’s happening at The Maze (Tiree) over the next couple of weeks. Straight up, we’re in for a real mixed bag, with some long quiet stretches and some wild, blown-out swell.

Right now, there’s a tiny window of fun. The water temp is sitting around 59°, which is pretty much bang on average for this time of year – nothing unusual there. The best of the early action kicks off on Thursday, August 27th, with a clean 2ft swell from the west, gently pushed in by an offshore easterly breeze. It’s not big, but it's clean and rideable. The energy is weak (78), so it’ll be a longboard or a funboard kind of session.

Thursday afternoon the wind swings northeast, making it cross-off, and the swell drops to 2ft. Still surfable, but not as good as the morning.

Friday through Saturday sees a big drop-off. The swell is tiny, the wind is howling from the north, and conditions are just poor. A couple of days to give it a miss.

Now, here’s a little gift. Sunday, August 30th, is looking sweet. The morning kicks off with a glassy 2ft swell from the WSW (79 energy), and the afternoon cleans right up with a glassy 2ft from the same direction (97 energy). Light and variable winds. This is the standout of the first week – small, clean, and all yours. If you can get out, this is the one to aim for.

But then the wind kicks in again. Monday, August 31st, through Tuesday, September 1st, the swell builds but gets demolished by strong cross-onshore winds. By Tuesday the 1st, with fresh to near-gale winds, and a short-period (6 sec) NNW swell, it becomes a complete mess. Not your friend. The energy levels jump to 320, but with that wind, it’s no use.

From Wednesday, September 2nd, things flatten out again, with a little cross-shore chop and weak waves. Thursday, September 3rd, however, looks like a heavy-winter swell event. The period stays short (9-10 seconds), but the energy skyrockets to 1014 on Thursday, then to 2078 on Thursday afternoon. By Friday, September 4th, it hits 3394 with an 12ft west swell, peaking at 15ft and 12-second period on Friday afternoon (4987 energy). The problem? It's all onshore wind from the west-southwest and west. For paddle surfing, this is a dangerous, blown-out mess. For any kiter watching, with that much power and onshore flow, The Maze would be an absolute playground.

Saturday, September 5th, still sees a big 8ft west swell, but still with onshore winds. Not good for paddling, better for kites. Sunday, September 6th, brings strong offshore winds from the east-southeast, but at 31 mph, it's a near gale. That 7ft west swell (698 energy) will be impossibly difficult to paddle into. Hard no.

Monday, September 7th and into the middle of the week, the gale-force cross-onshore winds and blown-out conditions continue. By Wednesday, September 9th, the swell drops back down to 3ft, but still messy. The final few days (Thursday, September 10th through Friday, September 11th) finally look like they might settle down, with a small 2ft west-southwest swell, clean cross-off and glassy winds. The energy is low (48-84), but the wave quality is back.

Honestly, the one true standout is Sunday, August 30th. Get on it if you can. The massive swell around September 3rd to 5th is impressive in height, but it’s only for experts with big balls and a death wish, and even then, the wind is terrible. For the rest of it, it’s either flat, blown out, or both.

Stay safe out there.

Rusty.

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