Thurso East Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Right then, let’s have a look at what’s on offer for Thurso East.

Right off the bat, the first few days are pretty grim. We’re looking at Friday morning the 10th and there’s just nothing doing – onshore wind, weak energy (180), and the water’s sitting at 55°F, which is bang on average for the time of year, so no surprises there. That pretty much sets the tone for the start: a real flat spell. It’s going to be a long wait, with the better part of a week of poor conditions before anything worthwhile shows up.

Saturday the 11th isn’t much better. The swell’s around the 4ft mark from the west, with a period of 10–11 seconds, and the wind is a cross-offshore from the ENE. The combined energy’s moderate (268 to 338) and it’s clean, but it’s not lighting up the reef how you’d want. Still, it’s the first sign of life. You’ll get some waves, but nothing to write home about.

The real standout, the one you want to circle on the calendar, is Tuesday the 14th. We’ve got a clean, solid groundswell pushing in from the WNW – around 3ft, but with a long period of 12 seconds. The combined energy hits 302, so there’s proper push behind it. The wind is offshore from the SE, light to moderate, keeping it clean and lined up. This is a classic Thurso East day: a long-period groundswell, hitting a point break, with that glassy sweep. It’s an expert wave, and it’s going to be good. A bit of a spread-out set, as you’d expect with a long period, but the quality will be there.

After that, it drops back down through the rest of the week. Wednesday and Thursday are ordinary, with small, weak swell. Friday the 17th sees an onshore switch and it’s back to poor conditions. Then we get a blast of onshore wind and a bigger, messy swell over the weekend of the 18th and 19th – up to nearly 6ft from the NW with a frustratingly short period of 6 to 8 seconds, and combined energy blasting up to 523. That’s a mushy, wind-blown mess, more suited to kites than paddles.

Now, here’s the other one worth mentioning. Monday the 20th looks promising. The wind swings back offshore from the SE, and we’ve got a solid 6ft swell from the west, with a period of 9 seconds. The combined energy is strong at 535. This is a nice, punchy wave, and with clean offshore conditions, it’s going to be a good session for the experienced crew. The water’s still a cool 55°F or so.

The following days, the 21st through the 23rd, are a write-off. Onshore winds from the WNW with big, choppy swell over 7ft – that’s just ugly. The 22nd afternoon sees the energy spike to 830, but with a cross-on wind and a period of only 8 seconds, it’s only going to be lumpy and difficult.

The tail end of the window, around the 24th, tries to clean up again. A 4ft west swell with a period of 10 seconds, combined energy of 225, and a cross-offshore wind from the south. It’s surfable, but nothing special. The 25th gets blown out again.

So, to sum it up: the first week is a bust. Tuesday the 14th is your best bet for quality, clean, long-period groundswell on the point. Monday the 20th is the second call – a bit more power and a bit shorter period, but still clean and offshore. Get on it if you can.

Rusty.

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