Thurso Reef Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Right, let’s have a look at what’s on offer for Thurso Reef over the next couple of weeks.

To be honest, for the first week and a bit it’s a bit of a write-off. The swell is small and the wind is mostly cross or cross-onshore, leaving the surface messy. There’s very little to get excited about. There’s a long stretch of poor conditions from Wednesday the 15th all the way through to the morning of Friday the 24th. That’s ten days of pretty ordinary surf where the energy is weak – mostly just a few hundred (combined energy of all swells directed here: 71 to 248) – and the period is short, so the waves are weak and lumpy. Not worth paddling out for.

The first real hope comes late in the window. Saturday the 25th is the standout. The morning shows a clean, offshore wind from the south at 15 mph, with a solid 6 ft swell from the northwest, period of 8 seconds. That’s a good size for intermediate surfers – a bit much for beginners, but fine for anyone comfortable in punchy reef waves. The combined energy of all swells directed here jumps to 434, which is a solid moderate energy. The afternoon holds up too, with a light southwesterly cross-offshore breeze, 6 ft northwest swell, and clean lines. This is the best session of the whole run.

Sunday the 26th morning also looks clean, with a light SSE cross-offshore wind and 5 ft northwest swell (combined energy of all swells directed here: 336). It’s a bit smaller but still fun. The period is 8 seconds, so it’s a short-period wind swell, but with that offshore flow it’ll be rideable and clean.

Monday the 27th morning has a bit more size at 6 ft from the west-northwest, period 9 seconds, with a light westerly cross-offshore breeze. The combined energy of all swells directed here is 458, so there’s some push there. But the conditions are described as marginal, so it might not be as tidy as the weekend.

Thurso Reef is a reef break, fairly consistent, and it handles a northwest swell well – that’s the optimum direction. Crowds are possible here, but on a Saturday morning with that quality, expect a few locals out. The water temperature is about average for the time of year, nothing unusual.

So, if you can wait, Saturday the 25th is the one to aim for. Clean, solid, and offshore. The rest of the period is slim pickings.

Rusty

Read more