The Maze (Tiree) Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let's have a look at what’s on the table for the next couple of weeks.

First off, I gotta be straight with you – it's a rough stretch ahead for our spot, The Maze (Tiree). We've got a classic case of "a lot of ocean, not a lot of quality." The whole 16-day window is a tough slog with hardly any clean surf. There's a big gap at the start with no real standouts to recommend. The wind is the main villain here, just relentless and onshore or cross-shore for the vast majority of the period.

Let's run through it. Sunday the 6th kicks off with a solid 5ft swell from the WSW, but it's sloppy with a 31 mph south wind. The wave energy is moderate at best (398). We go straight into Monday the 7th with a much bigger pulse – 10ft to 12ft of WSW swell, but again, hammered by a strong onshore breeze. That's expert-only territory for size, but the conditions are a write-off. Tuesday the 8th sees the swell max out at 13ft to 15ft from the NW, with a near-gale force wind. That is a washing machine, not a surf break. The combined energy is huge (4810), but useless.

We get a bit of a lull mid-week, but the winds stay stubborn. Wednesday the 9th drops to 5ft, still with a cross-onshore wind. The pattern just repeats itself day after day: fresh to strong onshore winds messing up whatever swell is there. The water temp is about 59° which is pretty average for this time of year.

Now, the only glimmer, and I mean a tiny one, comes on Saturday the 12th. We see a long-period groundswell (14 seconds) coming in at 10ft from the WNW. The combined energy is very strong (2993). The problem? It's still a fresh cross-shore wind. The data calls it "marginal." It’s a classic long-period swell that would be incredible at a point or reef break, but with this wind, The Maze is going to be lumpy and hard to read. For a true expert on a big day, it might be the least-worst option, but it's not something I'd get excited about.

After that, the onshore wind just returns like clockwork. There’s another big spike, a massive 20ft swell from the WSW on Wednesday the 16th with a 13 second period and insane energy (11068). That's purely for the elite, if anyone even bothers. The rest of the period into the 21st is a steady diet of onshore wind and diminishing swell. Honestly, with this persistent onshore wind, most of these days look more interesting for kite surfing than a proper paddle session.

Bottom line: there are no golden days in this forecast. Keep your gear ready, because the window for a clean session is closed for now, but forecasts can change.

- Rusty

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