Trincomalee Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s on the cards for the next couple of weeks.

Well, I’ll be honest with you, it’s a bit of a tough stretch ahead. The surf is going to be pretty lacklustre overall, with a lot of small, weak energy and cross-offshore winds that just don’t do us any favours. There’s nothing on the immediate horizon that’s worth paddling out for, and we’re looking at a long, quiet run until the very end of the forecast. The first decent bump in energy doesn’t even show up until Tuesday, the 20th of August, and even then, it’s not much to write home about. The combined wave energy is weak, sitting in the double digits for most of the period, with a few brief moments of moderate energy (100-150) that still get a “poor surf conditions” tag.

The only spot on the menu is Trincomalee (Sri Lanka), a point break that rarely breaks. It’s a sheltered little setup, so it needs a very specific swell direction to work. The water temp is sitting at a warm 84°F, which is about average for the time of year, so no surprises there.

Now, let’s talk about the one day that might just get a little interesting. On Thursday, the 20th of August, during the afternoon, we see a tiny bump in swell size to 3 ft from the SSE, with a combined energy of 109 (moderate). The wind goes light and crosses up, with a period of only 7 seconds – that’s short-period, wind-driven slop. It’s still not what I’d call good, but it’s the only window where the numbers climb a little. The swell direction is from the SSE, which is not the optimum S direction the break prefers, so the quality is still going to be poor.

The tail end of the run, around Friday, the 21st of August, shows a long-period groundswell from the S at 19 seconds, but with a tiny 0.7 ft of height. That’s a lot of period with no push. The wind does go light offshore on the Friday afternoon, but with that little energy, it’s not going to break. It’s a tease, nothing more.

For the rest of the time, it’s a constant grind of small, weak swell and cross-off winds. The crowds at Trincomalee are only “sometimes” an issue, but honestly, with surf this poor, they won’t be a problem anyway.

So, to sum it up: there’s no standout session in this 16-day window. The best I can offer is a very small, short-period bump on the 20th, but it’s not going to be clean or punchy. This is a blank run, plain and simple. Sometimes the ocean just goes quiet, and this is one of those times. Keep your gear ready and hope the forecasts change.

Rusty.

Read more