West Wittering Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, surfers. Rusty here with a look at the next couple of weeks for West Wittering. Fair warning, it’s a tale of patience and picking the right moment.

Honestly, the whole 16-day window is a bit of a struggle. We’re looking at a long stretch of very small, weak swell, and the wind is almost always in the wrong place. The first real surfable pulse doesn't arrive until the final weekend of July, and even then it’s not a classic.

The action starts on the morning of the 24th of July, but it’s not worth paddling out for. We’ve got a tiny 0.3ft W swell with a period of 8 seconds, blown out by a cross-onshore wind. The combined energy is a measly 1 (1), which is basically flat. You’ll be sitting on your board doing nothing.

The next few days are much the same. The swell tries to pick up a little on the 26th, with a 2ft SW swell in the afternoon, but the wind is a fresh cross-shore, making it lumpy. The energy is still only 30 (30) – weak. This pattern of small, messy waves continues right through to the start of August.

We get a slight glimmer on the 1st of August. The morning shows a 2ft WSW swell with a period of 10 seconds. The wind is a light cross-shore, which is better. The energy has climbed to 70 (70), but it’s still not enough to get excited about, and the afternoon gets blown out again by a strong onshore.

The best chance in this whole period looks like the morning of the 4th of August. The wind snaps around to a light cross-offshore from the north, cleaning things right up. The swell is still small at 2ft from the SW, but the period is a more promising 6 seconds, and the energy is 26 (26). It’s a small window of clean, rideable waves for the intermediate crew. The crowds are "sometimes," so expect a few others with the same idea.

Then comes the 6th of August. Thursday afternoon, the swell finally shows some real power. We’ve got a 4ft SW swell with a period of 7 seconds, and the combined energy jumps to 171 (171) – that’s moderate energy. The swell is getting a bit of size, but the wind is a strong onshore from the WSW, so it’s going to be a messy, choppy mess. The wave quality will be poor, making it more of a battle than a pleasure. This one is for the experts only, and even then, it’s probably more interesting for the kite surfers than paddle surfers.

Beyond that, the 8th of August sees the swell drop right back down again with more onshore wind. The long-range stuff on the 7th and 8th is just more of the same small, weak, wind-affected slop.

So, to sum it up: the standout is the morning of the 4th of August. It’s clean, but it’s small. The 6th of August afternoon has the most size, but the wind is horrible. Don’t hold your breath for any of the other days.

Rusty.

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