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Surf Forecasts:
Watergate Bay surf forecast from 20 Aug 2026:
- Best quality surf: Wednesday 26 Aug, 7PM (local time) - 3.5ft (1.0m), 10s period, W swell with offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Thursday 20 Aug, 10PM (local time) - 5ft (1.6m), 9s period, W swell with 449 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Saturday 22 Aug, 7AM (local time) - 1.5ft (0.5m), 10s period with W swell.
Best Forecast Surf Conditions for Watergate Bay this week:
The surf forecast for Watergate Bay over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Saturday (Aug 22) at 7AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 0.5m and 10s period with a secondary swell of 0.6m and 5s. The wind is predicted to be cross-offshore as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Watergate Bay in the next 16 days are 1.6m 9s and forecast to arrive on Thursday (Aug 20) at 10PM. Winds are predicted to be cross-onshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 0.8m 4s period and expected on Tuesday (Aug 25) at 1AM.
| Wave Type | Time (BST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 7AM (Sat 22nd Aug) | 1.5ft (0.5m) 10s |
| Best Surf | 7PM (Wed 26th Aug) | 3.5ft (1.0m) 10s |
| Most Powerful | 10PM (Thu 20th Aug) | 5ft (1.6m) 9s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Watergate Bay over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Alright mate, Rusty here. Let’s take a look at what’s on the cards for the next couple of weeks.
We’ve got a long stretch ahead with a bit of a rough start. The surf is pretty much flat or messy for the first week, with a few small windows that might tempt you out but nothing to get excited about. The water is sitting at 66°F and running a touch warmer than normal for this time of year, so that’s a nice bonus if you go for a paddle.
The first day that even looks worth a mention is Saturday the 22nd. Morning comes in with a tiny 3 ft from the NNW, but the wind is light and cross-off, so it’ll be clean. No size, but if you’re desperate for a splash, you could get a few weak ones. That’s about it until later in the week.
The real standout, and honestly the only one worth getting excited about, is Thursday the 3rd of September. The morning at Watergate Bay shows 6 ft of swell from the NW, period is short at 6 seconds, but the wind is glassy – dead calm – and the combined energy is moderate (331). It’s not a perfect groundswell, but for a beach break, that glassy morning will be the cleanest surf we’ve seen in a while. It’s a beginner-friendly size, so that’s a bonus.
For the rest of the fortnight, it’s mostly poor surf with onshore or cross-onshore winds. There’s a spike on Friday the 28th afternoon where the swell jumps to 10 ft from the W with a short period, and the energy is very strong (1439), but the wind is cross-off and clean – that one is for experts only. The following Saturday morning (29th) sees even bigger 12 ft from the W, but with strong cross-onshore winds, so it’ll be a lumpy mess, probably more of a kite day than a paddle.
So to wrap it up: the first week is mostly a write-off. Hold out for the glassy morning on Thursday the 3rd of September for the best chance of clean, surfable waves. Anything after that looks like a gamble.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastSome drizzle, heaviest during Thu afternoon. Very mild (max 18°C on Sun morning, min 14°C on Fri night). Wind will be generally light. | Days 5-7 Weather SummaryModerate rain (total 17mm), heaviest on Tue afternoon. Warm (max 21°C on Mon morning, min 17°C on Sun night). Winds increasing (light winds from the ESE on Sun night, strong winds from the ESE by Mon night). | |||||||||||||||||||
Thu 20 | Friday 21 | Saturday 22 | Sunday 23 | Monday 24 | Tuesday 25 | Wednesday 26 | ||||||||||||||
PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | |
Swell Height Map |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | |||||||||||||
Wave Height (m) Direction Period (s) | WNW 9 | W 9 | W 8 | W 8 | W 8 | W 10 | W 9 | W 9 | WSW 14 | SW 13 | WSW 10 | WSW 9 | WSW 13 | WSW 13 | WNW 10 | WNW 10 | W 9 | W 9 | W 8 | W 9 |
Wave Graph  | ||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 627 | 339 | 116 | 86 | 32 | 65 | 40 | 24 | 19 | 46 | 38 | 8 | 18 | 17 | 20 | 31 | 60 | 56 | 89 | 168 |
Wind (km/h) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | on | cross-on | cross-on | on | cross-on | cross-off | cross-on | cross | cross-off | cross-on | cross | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | off |
High Tide | 11:25PM4.73m | 11:55AM4.57m | 00:36AM4.36m | 1:20PM4.36m | 2:10AM4.29m | 2:52PM4.47m | 3:30AM4.52m | 3:57PM4.83m | 4:24AM4.90m | 4:44PM5.27m | 5:04AM5.32m | 5:21PM5.72m | ||||||||
Low Tide | 5:13PM1.94m | 5:40AM2.17m | 6:19PM2.31m | 6:58AM2.45m | 7:54PM2.45m | 8:37AM2.43m | 9:24PM2.25m | 9:51AM2.12m | 10:24PM1.87m | 10:41AM1.71m | 11:07PM1.44m | 11:20AM1.28m | 11:43PM1.03m | |||||||
 |  |  |  |  | | | | | | | | |  | |  |  |  |  |  | |
 | — | — | 6:16 | — | — | 6:18 | — | — | 6:18 | — | — | 6:20 | — | — | 6:22 | — | — | 6:24 | — | — |
 | 8:30 | — | — | 8:29 | — | — | 8:27 | — | — | 8:24 | — | — | 8:22 | — | — | 8:20 | — | — | 8:17 | — |
mm | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 2 | — | 6 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 13 |
Temp °C | 17 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 17 | 17 | 16 | 18 | 19 | 18 | 21 | 21 | 20 | 20 | 19 | 18 | 18 | 20 | 17 |
Feels °C | 12 | 12 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 16 | 17 | 16 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 17 | 16 | 18 | 15 | 19 | 17 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | WSW 14 | W 9 | W 8 | W 8 | N 5 | N 6 | W 9 | W 9 | N 4 | SW 13 | WSW 10 | WSW 9 | W 9 | W 8 | NE 5 | WNW 10 | W 9 | W 9 | W 8 | W 9 |
| kJ | 21 | 339 | 116 | 86 | 13 | 31 | 40 | 24 | 5 | 46 | 38 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 31 | 60 | 56 | 89 | 168 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | WSW 14 | SW 13 | SW 13 | WNW 5 | W 10 | WSW 15 | WSW 15 | W 9 | W 9 | N 4 | W 9 | WSW 13 | WSW 13 | WNW 10 | SW 8 | SW 13 | SW 12 | WNW 11 | SSW 8 |
| kJ | — | 18 | 7 | 7 | 17 | 65 | 21 | 21 | 14 | 6 | 3 | 7 | 18 | 17 | 20 | 10 | 7 | 6 | 40 | 54 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | SW 16 | SW 16 | W 8 | WSW 15 | SW 12 | — | WSW 14 | — | SW 14 | N 4 | SW 9 | SW 8 | SSW 8 | NE 5 | — | N 6 | N 6 | SW 12 |
| kJ | — | — | 10 | 10 | 32 | 22 | 6 | — | 19 | — | 8 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 3 | — | 1 | 1 | 6 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | WNW 9 | N 5 | N 5 | N 5 | — | — | N 5 | N 4 | — | NNW 4 | — | E 3 | ENE 3 | E 4 | ESE 3 | — | SW 8 | SW 6 | SW 7 | — |
| kJ | 627 | 27 | 54 | 33 | — | — | 20 | 10 | — | 6 | — | 4 | 3 | 17 | 3 | — | 51 | 46 | 73 | — |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | ||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 220 | 44 | 70 | 245 | 46 | 0 | 46 | 46 | 20 | 10 | 9 | 269 | 208 | 205 | 205 | 20 | 0 | 40 | 0 | 0 |
Best forecast wave conditions in North Cornwall | ||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in United Kingdom | ||||||||||||||||||||
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The surf report / weather widget below is available to embed on third party websites free of charge and provides a summary of our Watergate Bay surf forecast. Simply grab the html code snippet that we provide and paste it into your own site. You can choose your preferred language and metric/imperial units for the surf forecast feed to suit users of your site. Click here to get the code.
Information about the Watergate Bay Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for Watergate Bay provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at Watergate Bay can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our Watergate Bay surf forecast is unique since it includes wave energy (power) that defines the real feel of the surf rather than just the height or the period. If you surf the same spot (Watergate Bay) regularly then make a mental note of the wave energy from the surf forecast table each time you go. Very soon you may start to choose your surf days based on the wave energy alone combined with our forecast of favourable offshore wind conditions. Our star ratings will help here and of course you will also find the usual wave height and period predictions on our surf forecasts as well as a full break down of the swell components under our advanced users option (to reveal that, click the little Einstein character under the tide times).
Further information to help with frequently asked questions about our surf forecast for Watergate Bay may be found under the help tab on the top menu and also by moving your mouse over the question marks on the surf forecast table itself. Please always bear in mind that the forecast is for near-shore open water and local factors at each surf break influence the actual breaking wave height, such as the beach / reef profile, water depths offshore and shelter.
Are you planning a holiday in North Cornwall? If you are looking for accommodation near Watergate Bay, camping, hotels and holiday cottages in North Cornwall, consider staying in Newquay which is 5 km (3 miles) away. Other places in and around North Cornwall where you can find information about places to rent, and car hire include Padstow which is 13 km (8 miles) away, Truro, Bodmin and Saint Austell.
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