Thurso East Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, grab a coffee, I’m Rusty, and I’m looking down the line for the next 16 days here. We’ve only got one spot in the frame – Thurso East. And honestly, it’s a bit of a mixed bag. Most of the time, we’re dealing with messy, wind-affected conditions, a classic North Coast struggle. There is a big, clean window of opportunity, but you have to be patient and wait for it. The early part of the run up to September is a write-off for any decent paddling, so brace yourselves for a long gap before the good stuff.

Alright, for the first week, from Friday 28th August on, it’s pretty grim. We’re looking at tiny, poor surf with the wind blowing the wrong way. On Saturday 29th, you’ve got a 4ft NNW swell, but it’s cross-on and choppy – absolute garbage for a point break like this. The swell energy is weak, barely hitting 90 (moderate cross-onshore and choppy). It stays undersized and onshore through to the end of the month.

We get a tease on Tuesday 1st September morning. A 7ft west swell arrives with a strong, clean offshore SSE wind at 19 mph. That’s a solid start to the day. The combined energy jumps to a moderate 615 (fresh offshore and clean). But don’t get too excited because by the afternoon the wind screams around to a 28 mph cross-on, and it’s game over. Wednesday and Thursday are all wind and big, messy swell in the 7-8ft range, with the energy climbing into the high hundreds.

Then the real beast shows up. Friday 4th and Saturday 5th September are pure chaos. We’re talking about a massive 15ft west swell with a very long period of 14 seconds, and the combined energy is off the charts at 7155 (moderate cross-onshore and choppy). But it’s cross-on with howling wind, so it’s going to be a washing machine. That kind of size and wind, on a point, makes it more of a kite-surfing show than anything else.

There’s another big lull from Monday 7th to Wednesday 9th September, with tiny, blown-out waves you can’t do anything with. Wednesday 9th has a mad offshore gale at 31 mph, but the swell is only 1.0ft, so you’ll never get into it.

Now, here’s where we get the standout. Hold onto your board. On Thursday 10th September, the stars align. Thurso East will be firing. We’ve got a huge 15ft groundswell from the north, with a solid period of 10 seconds. The combined energy is colossal at 3829 (moderate offshore and clean). The wind is a beautiful, clean offshore breeze from the SSE at 12 mph. This is it. The optimum direction is NNW, and we’re getting NNW swell with an offshore wind. That’s a perfect setup for this heavy, expert-only rivermouth. The water temperature is picking up the tail end of summer. This is seriously heavy surf, over 8ft – absolutely for experts only. It’s the day to be there if you’ve got the nerve. The morning is the best call, as the afternoon still looks clean but maybe a touch less perfect. It’s a stand-out size and quality day, but mark it in your calendar – it’s over a week away.

After that, Friday 11th and Saturday 12th September see the swell easing but still big and lumpy, with winds turning onshore again, flushing the quality away. The long-range call on the 10th is the one for the brave.

Rusty.

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