Westport-The Groins Surf Forecast and Surf Report

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

Right off the bat, we’ve got a bit of a slow start, but there’s a real window of opportunity on Thursday, the 20th, that’s worth gettin’ excited about.

The first real surf on offer is for Thursday morning, the 20th of August, at Westport-The Groins. We’re looking at a 4 ft swell from the WNW, with a solid 11-second period pushing through. The combined energy is a respectable 497, so there’s some proper grunt in the water. Now, the real kicker here is the wind: a light 3 mph from the WSW, which is a clean cross-offshore breeze. That’s gonna slick the faces up real nice. The early session is the standout of the whole forecast. The swell is a manageable size, so it’s a good time for beginners and intermediates alike. Water temp is about average for this time of year, so no nasty surprises.

The rest of that Thursday afternoon gets a bit sloppy as the wind picks up and turns cross-shore, so the quality drops off. Friday the 21st and Saturday the 22nd offer some surfable waves, around 3 ft to 3 ft, with clean conditions thanks to offshore winds, but the energy is dropping and the wave quality is just ordinary. Still, you’ll get a few fun ones.

Now, here’s where it gets a bit grim. From Sunday the 23rd of August all the way through to Monday the 31st of August, it’s a long stretch of poor to marginal conditions. The swell drops to ankle-snappers, the wind is mostly cross-onshore, and the buoys are showing a lot of weak, lumpy energy. The combined energy stays in the low 200s to 300s, which is just weak and messy. The periods are long, like 15 to 19 seconds, which for a beach/jetty setup like this usually means a lot of water moving around but not much in the way of a proper wave face. It’s a real bummer of a run.

We finally see a glimmer of hope on Tuesday the 1st of September. The morning session is looking glassy, with a 3 ft swell from the WSW and a period of 9 seconds. The combined energy jumps back up to 390, and with glassy conditions, it’s a legit chance for a clean session. But be warned, the afternoon that same day sees a sudden jump to a 7 ft swell from the WSW with a longer 11-second period. That’s a lot of water moving in a sheltered spot, and the energy spikes to 975. That’s a powerful, punchy wave that’s firmly in the "experts only" zone. The wind is also starting to get messy again.

The last few days of the forecast, into the first week of September, are a mixed bag. You’ll get some clean 3 ft days like Thursday the 3rd of September morning, but the wind and period keep things from being a proper standout. The consistency is fair, but the quality is just average.

Overall, the one true standout is Thursday morning, the 20th of August. It’s the cleanest, most fun-sized swell with the best wind. After that, there’s a long, dry spell of about a week, before a slightly tricky but potentially fun window on the 1st of September – but that one comes with a sharp afternoon spike in size that’ll only be for the experienced crew.

Keep your eyes on the horizon, folks. Rusty out.

Read more