West Wittering Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, folks, it’s Rusty here. I’ve had a look at the charts for West Wittering and I’m not gonna lie to you, it’s a tough one. This outlook stretches out over the next couple of weeks, and the honest truth is, there’s just nothing to get excited about for paddle surfing. The whole 16-day window is pretty much a flat spell with barely a ripple to speak of.

This is a sheltered beach and groyne setup that needs a good swell from the southwest to fire, but the energy just isn’t there. The first possible sign of any wave action is from Monday, the 20th of July, but even then, we’re talking about a tiny 0.3ft swell from the west. The combined wave energy is a measly (4) – that’s barely a bump. The water is sitting at a balmy 70°, which is far warmer than normal for this time of year, but that’s about the only good news. The wind is a cross-shore from the SSE, so it’s not clean, and the comment is “poor surf conditions.” It’s a no-go.

The next few days are more of the same. Tuesday the 21st might have a cleaner look with a NE offshore breeze in the morning, but we’re still stuck with that 0.3ft swell. Periods stretch out to 11 seconds, which is a long-period groundswell, but with that tiny height, it’s just not enough to wrap in. The energy is still pathetic (3). From Wednesday the 22nd right through to the end of the month, it’s a mix of flat spells and tiny, wind-affected slop. We see a few sessions with a 1.3ft to 2ft swell, but the period is sometimes as low as 3 seconds – that’s pure wind chop, not a surfable wave. The winds are often cross-onshore or onshore, creating choppy, bumpy conditions.

There’s a brief moment on Sunday the 26th where the wind turns cross-offshore from the NNW, but the swell is still a pathetic 0.3ft from the SW. The energy is a 1. It’s clean, but there’s nothing to ride. Then, on Wednesday the 29th of July, we get a glassy morning with no wind at all, but the swell is a flat zero. It’s like a mill pond.

As we roll into the first week of August, the story doesn’t change. The wind picks up, with strong breezes from the WSW, and we get a few tiny 0.3ft to 1.3ft bumps with periods of 2-8 seconds, but the energy never gets above (2). The wind is almost always onshore or cross-onshore, so it’s messy and lumpy. The setup looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing because the wind is strong and consistent, but for a surfer, it’s a write-off.

To be straight with you, this is a blank run. There are no standout sessions, no hidden gems, and nothing worth paddling out for. West Wittering can be like this in the summer – it tends not to stay poor for long, but this particular forecast is a total dud.

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