Westward Ho Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Right then, let's have a look at what’s on the cards for the next couple of weeks here. I won't lie to you, it’s a pretty bleak stretch overall, with a lot of blown-out, choppy, and just plain ordinary conditions coming through. We've got a long gap with nothing really worth getting wet for, so patience is the name of the game.

We start off on Monday the 31st of August with a lumpy, cross-onshore mess. Swell is around 7 ft to 8 ft from the west with a 10-second period, but the wind is howling from the NW and WNW, up to 19 mph. The ocean is churning with moderate wave energy (958), but it’s a big, windy pile of slop. The water is much warmer than normal for this time of year at 66°. That pattern of fresh, onshore wind and poor surf carries on right through the first week and into the next. Tuesday the 1st of September sees the swell drop, but the wind stays ugly. We go through a few days of tiny, weak, and choppy waves, with combined energy values dropping as low as 41 on Wednesday morning the 2nd. There is a brief, tiny glimmer on Saturday the 5th of September when the wind goes glassy in the morning, but the swell is only 2 ft. It’s a surfable wave, but very ordinary. That’s the only real nod to a session for days.

Now, the best of a bad bunch – and I mean the *only* real standout – comes on Tuesday the 8th of September. Tuesday morning sees a jump in swell to 5 ft from the west with a 7-second period, and the wind is a light cross-onshore with just a slight air, so it’s manageable. The combined energy hits moderate levels at 279, and we get a 'marginal' thumbs-up. But the real surprise is Tuesday afternoon. The swell pushes up to 6 ft from the west, and the wind goes directly onshore. While the wave comment says poor, the combined energy jumps to a strong 454. For Westward Ho, this is the most power we see in the whole window. It’s onshore, for sure, but for a beginner break, that size and push, with a bit of a warm westerly behind it, is your best chance for some proper frothy fun. The crowds can be a bit of a lottery here, so you might have some company.

After that, it gets messy again. There’s a run of fresh, lumpy onshore winds from the 9th through the 10th, with swell hanging around 3 ft to 5 ft but no quality. Then, from the 11th of September onward, we get a shift to cleaner, south-easterly cross-offshore winds, but the swell drops right out, barely hitting 2 ft. The last two records on the 14th and 15th of September show the biggest swell of the whole period, with an 8 ft west swell hitting on Monday the 14th and combined energy rocketing to 1146. That's serious power, over the 8 ft mark so really only for the experts, and with a moderate to fresh cross-onshore wind, it’s going to be a wild, bumpy beast. Tuesday the 15th still has a solid 6 ft swell with a nice 11-second period, but again the wind is onshore, making it a messy, challenging paddle.

So, to wrap it up: if you have to get out, wait for Tuesday the 8th of September afternoon for the biggest, most powerful surf of the lousy run, but know it’s going to be a bit onshore and lumpy. If you’re a glassy-freak, Saturday the 5th of September morning is your tiny, clean wave. Otherwise, this is a long, dry spell with very little worth chasing.

Rusty.

Read more