West Wittering Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Well, grab a coffee, sit down. I’ve checked the charts and the long-range models and I’ve got to be honest with you—this upcoming sixteen-day window for West Wittering is about as quiet as it gets. We’re looking at a painful stretch of barely-there swell and onshore wind, so don’t go getting your hopes up for anything special.

The first real chance to even get wet is on Thursday morning, 27th August. You’ll see a tiny pulse of swell hitting 2 ft from the southeast with a period of just 4 seconds. It’s short-period windswell, lumpy with a moderate cross-onshore breeze, and overall it’s just poor. Not something I’d bother paddling out for.

If you're desperate, Saturday morning, 29th August, rolls around with the biggest swell of the period – 5 ft from the south-southwest and a 7-second period. The combined energy climbs a bit (209), but the wind is a strong cross-onshore from the south-southwest at 28 mph, blowing the surface to bits, and it's borderline messy. That size is too much for beginners with a shorebreak like that, and the quality is so low that it's more of a thrash session than anything else. The water temperature is sitting at 70°, which is a full 7° warmer than normal for this time of year – that’s very unusual, you could practically surf in boardies.

Saturday afternoon, 30th August, offers a bit more energy (279) with 4 ft from the west-southwest at 9 seconds, but it’s onshore again. Still no real quality.

After that, from 31st August through to 9th September, it's all tiny dribbles of swell – mostly under 2 ft – with persistent onshore or cross-shore winds and poor surf conditions. There is a brief moment on the morning of 5th September when a clean cross-offshore appears (NNW 22 mph), but with only 0.3 ft of swell on offer, it’s flat. Same again on the morning of 6th September with light northerly winds and 0.3 ft of swell. Nothing to ride.

Honestly, for the entire 16-day run, there isn’t a single standout day or a break worth calling a highlight. West Wittering is a beach/groyne setup relying on shelter from the southwest, but it’s inconsistent and rarely sees anything clean or rideable. The whole period is essentially a washout for paddle surfing. If the wind keeps up like this, the setup would be more interesting for kite surfing than for a traditional surfboard.

Keep an eye on things, but for now? Save your energy. Days like this happen – it tends not to stay poor for long around here, but this run is a long, quiet one.

Rusty

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