Westward Ho Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let's have a good look at what's coming our way for the next couple of weeks.

Honestly, it’s a pretty bleak picture overall. We’ve got a long stretch ahead with hardly anything worth paddling out for. We’re looking a good week or more of very ordinary, poor surf conditions before anything remotely rideable shows up. The water temp is sitting at a balmy 66°F, which is 5°F above the norm for this time of year, so the ocean feels like a warm bath, but that’s where the good news ends.

We start off with tiny, weak swell. Monday the 24th, you’re looking at 0.3ft from the southwest with a long 14-second period, but the easterly wind is howling at 19 mph. The combined energy is a measly 19. It’s clean, sure, but there's nothing to ride. That trend continues day after day with minimal swell and mostly cross or onshore winds. Tuesday the 25th sees a slight bump to 0.7ft, and by Wednesday the 26th there’s 2ft, but even then, the energy is only 40 and the conditions are just “clean” with no power. It’s ankle-knocker territory until the end of the month.

The swell does start to build towards the end of the first week, but the wind turns nasty. On Friday the 28th morning, we get a pulse of 6ft with moderate cross-shore wind, but the period is a short 7 seconds and the energy is 397. It gets a marginal score, but it’s messy. By the 29th, we’re seeing 7ft with an onshore gale from the west-southwest at 19 mph, making for a complete washout. Conditions stay poor right through to the end of August and into the first days of September with strong onshore winds and lumpy, choppy surf.

Finally, things look like they might turn. On Thursday the 3rd of September, we get a morning with a light easterly offshore wind, clean conditions, and 4ft of swell from the west at 7 seconds. The energy is moderate at 191. It’s only a 1-out-of-10 in the data, but given the desert we’ve been through, it’s the first time we’ve seen any clean, offshore wind on a surfable wave. Westward Ho will be the spot to check, but be warned, it can get crowded here, so you might have some company. It’s not a standout by any stretch, but it’s the only glimmer of hope for a paddle in the first ten days.

After that, things get messy again until Monday the 8th of September, when a big groundswell fills in. We’re talking 10ft from the west with a very long 17-second period, giving us a massive 4241 in combined energy. However, the wind is a fresh cross-shore from the south at 19 mph, so it’ll be lumpy and challenging. For experts only – that size and period will make for some heavy, straight sets at the beach. If you’re an experienced surfer and can handle the lump, there’ll be plenty of power on Tuesday morning. It gets a marginal call, but it’s the biggest energy spike of the whole 16 days. Keep an eye on it, but don’t get your hopes up until we’re closer.

So, to sum it up: a whole lot of nothing until the 3rd for a chance at a clean, small wave, and then a big, powerful, but messy swell around the 8th for the brave. Stay patient, lads.

Rusty.

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