Thurso East Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Right, folks, Rusty here. We're looking at a pretty wild ride over the next couple of weeks. The setup is complex, with a long stretch of rough, unsurfable conditions before a late-swinging window of clean, powerful waves for the brave. Let's get into it.

The first proper surf on offer is a no-go, to be honest. Monday, the 14th is the first we could paddle out, with a small 3ft to 4ft swell coming from the NNW and W. But it's the only sniff we get for a while. From Monday afternoon through to the morning of the 24th of September, it’s a write-off – a solid ten-day stretch of junk. We've got a mix of strong cross-onshore winds, lumpy, choppy conditions, and some genuinely nasty near-gale force blows. A big 15ft swell rolls in on the 18th, but it's accompanied by 35 km/h cross-onshore winds. That's just a mess. Even with the 16ft swell on the 20th (combined energy of 8897), the near-gale winds will have it blown to pieces. Honestly, for any beach setup, that’s kite-surfing territory, not a day for a paddle. The water temp at the break is 56°, which is about average for this time of year.

Now, hold on to your boards, because after that grim run, we get a true standout. The 24th of September (Thursday) morning shows a promising sign with a 13ft W swell at 12 seconds and a combined energy of 5520, but winds are still cross. The real magic is from the 25th.

The Standout: Thurso East (Friday, 25th and Saturday, 26th)

This is the one we've been waiting for. On Friday the 25th morning, we’ve got a solid 7ft swell from the W, with a 12-second period. The wind is light and cross-offshore from the SSW, so it’s going to be clean. The crowd situation is "sometimes", so you might have a few mates out, but it won't be a circus.

But Saturday the 26th is the absolute pick. The morning sees a powerful 10ft groundswell from the WNW, with a very long period of 15 seconds. The energy is strong at 4673. And the wind? Absolute glass – a 5 km/h glassy offshore from the SE. For Thurso East, a point break that loves a clean NW swell, this is prime. This is a big, powerful wave though; anything over 8ft is expert territory, and this one is 10ft plus on Saturday afternoon (11ft). This is for experienced surfers only. The long period means long, clean lines off the point, but expect big gaps between sets. The water stays about average for the time of year.

The following days, while still big, start to degrade a touch with more onshore winds coming back in. Sunday the 27th still has clean glassy 10ft waves in the morning, but the wind shifts to a light cross-onshore by the afternoon.

So to wrap it up: a long, bleak ten-day stretch of wind and slop, then one or two golden sessions for experts. The 26th is the one to circle on your calendar. Keep an eye on the forecasts, but for now, that's the call.

Rusty.

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