Westport-The Groins Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let's have a yarn about what's shaping up at Westport-The Groins over the next couple of weeks. Gotta be honest with you, it’s a patchy run. We're looking at a long stretch of small, average conditions before a possible late burst of size, but that comes with its own set of problems.

The water's sitting at 59° which is pretty much what you'd expect for this time of year, so nothing out of the ordinary there.

We kick things off this Saturday morning, the 22nd of August. It's not much to write home about. The swell is a tiny 1 ft from the SW, but the period is a massive 18 seconds. That's a long-period groundswell, which sounds fancy, but at this height it's barely gonna push in over the sandbar. The wind is offshore from the S at 12 mph, which is good for cleaning it up, but there's just no grunt in the water. The combined energy is only 195, so it's weak. You'll get a wave, but it’ll be a real fight for very little reward. Saturday afternoon stays small, picking up to 2 ft from the WNW but the period drops to a short 8 seconds, making for bumpy, unsurfable lumps.

Sunday the 23rd morning is more of the same – 1 ft SW swell with a long period, and light cross-offshore breeze. It’s clean, but still tiny. The energy is 141. By the afternoon, the wind swings NW and picks up, turning the surface into a choppy mess. This pattern of small, clean mornings and blown-out afternoons continues right through the next week. Monday the 24th looks particularly rough with strong NNW winds.

Tuesday the 25th and Wednesday the 26th have those cleaner morning windows with offshore breezes, but the swell stays stuck around 2 ft to 2 ft. The energy creeps up a bit, hitting 345 on Tuesday afternoon, but the wave comment doesn't get excited about it. It's surfable, but it’s very ordinary.

Then we hit a bit of a lull. From Thursday the 27th through to the end of August, most of the windows are marred by poor winds and onshore chop. The swell remains small and weak, with the combined energy mostly in the 200s and 300s. The best of this average stretch is probably Monday the 31st of August. The morning shows a 3 ft swell from the WNW with a 13-second period and a clean cross-off breeze. The energy is a more respectable 376. Then Monday afternoon the swell actually bumps up to 4 ft (WNW, 12s) and the energy jumps to 524. The conditions are clean with a light cross-offshore. That's the highlight of the first half: a decent, rideable wave on the 31st.

The first week of September looks messy again. Lots of cross-onshore winds, and the swell that shows up is poorly shaped. The swell on the 3rd of September gets to 4 ft from the W, but it's a short-period 9-second wind swell with onshore winds. It'll be a washing machine.

Now, here's the interesting bit. Fast forward to Saturday the 5th of September. We see a real jump in size. A 7 ft swell from the WNW (10s) rolls in for the morning, with near-calm winds. The combined energy explodes to 1765 – that's strong wave energy. This is potentially the punchiest swell of the entire outlook. However, it's 7 ft, which is getting solid, and the period is average at 10 seconds. The break is a beach/jetty setup, and with that much energy and short period, it could be closing out and difficult to paddle into. It is really only for experienced surfers. The Saturday afternoon swell holds at 7 ft (WNW, 12s) with 1623 energy, but the wind swings cross-onshore from the WNW, ruining it.

Then Sunday the 6th of September drops back to 4 ft with a light wind, but it's onshore. The energy is 662. It’s a step down.

So, to be straight with you: the best genuine surf window that ticks the most boxes is Monday the 31st of August afternoon. The 4 ft WNW swell (12s) with the cross-offshore breeze and clean conditions is your best bet for a decent, fun session. It's not a classic, but it's the most surfable wave in the whole run. That Saturday the 5th of September has the size, but it's messy and big for the setup. Take the 31st and make the most of it.

Stay wet,
Rusty.

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