Thurso East Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s cookin’ for Thurso East.

Right off the bat, I’ve got to be straight with you: the next few days are a write-off. The swell’s tiny and the wind’s a mess. You’ll see a decent pulse but it’s getting hammered by onshore winds. We’re looking at a long dry spell from now until Tuesday morning the 18th of August, with nothing worth paddling out for. The first real glimmer of hope doesn’t show up until Wednesday morning the 19th.

So, here’s the breakdown. On Wednesday the 19th, the swell finally kicks in from the west at 4 ft, with a period of 11 seconds. That’s a proper groundswell bringing some real energy (432 combined energy). The wind is a gentle offshore off the ENE – that’s clean. It’s gonna be a good session for the experienced crew hitting this point break. The wave quality will be there. The water temp is about normal for this time of year, around 57°. Thursday the 20th falls apart though, with a stiff cross-onshore wind and a short-period north swell that gets chopped up. Forget it.

The rest of that week and the weekend are a mixed bag of onshores and small, weak swell. Not worth getting wet. Then we get another window. Monday afternoon the 24th of August, and Tuesday the 25th, look interesting. The wind switches offshore from the southeast, and the swell hangs in from the west-northwest, around 4 ft on Monday with a period of 11 seconds (302 combined energy). Tuesday is similar, 3 ft and 10-second period (200 combined energy), with a moderate offshore breeze. This is your best bet for clean, lined-up waves on a classic point. Keep in mind, this break can draw a crowd sometimes, so get in early.

After that, it’s back to small, weak, or windy for the rest of the forecast. There’s a blip on Sunday the 30th of August afternoon with a clean 4 ft west swell, but it’s a gamble. And the very end of the run, on Wednesday the 2nd of September morning, shows a clean 4 ft west-northwest swell but with a period of only 5 seconds – that’s short-period windswell, not much grunt behind it.

For the standouts, it’s the Wednesday the 19th and then the Monday the 24th / Tuesday the 25th. The Wednesday has the size and the groundswell quality, but it’s an expert wave with that size and period. The Monday/Tuesday window is the most user-friendly combo of clean conditions and decent swell. If I had to pick one, Wednesday the 19th morning is the rawest, most powerful day, but you need to know what you’re doing. The Monday/Tuesday is your cleaner, more consistent option.

Stay stoked, but don’t force it on the flat days.

Rusty.

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