Whistling Sands (Porth Oer) Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, let’s get into it. I’m looking at the next couple of weeks here and, honestly, it’s a pretty grim stretch for us at Whistling Sands (Porth Oer). This spot is a sheltered little cove, and it needs a good SW swell to light up, but we just aren’t seeing it. The whole 16-day run is filled with poor surf conditions, so there are no standout days to get excited about. We’re looking at a long blank run of flat to tiny, messy waves.

Let’s start from the beginning. Sunday the 9th of August has some clouds and a cross-off wind from the SSW at 16 mph, but the swell is a pathetic 0.3 ft from the SW. The wave energy is weak at (12), and it’s just not worth paddling out for. The water temp is 62°, which is about average for this time of year—nothing unusual there.

Monday the 10th is a write-off too, with a tiny 1 ft swell and a short 6-second period, chopped up by cross-onshore winds. Tuesday the 11th gives us a clean morning with an offshore breeze from the SE at 9 mph, but the swell is only 0.7 ft and weak. That glassy look is tempting, but you’d be sitting out there on a sea of nothing.

Through the rest of the first week and into the second, it’s the same story. We see a slight bump on Saturday the 15th with a 3 ft swell from the NNW, but it’s short-period (5 seconds) and the wind is a fresh 19 mph cross-onshore, making it lumpy and choppy. The combined energy only reaches (47) and (40) for the morning and afternoon—still weak. Not worth the hassle.

Moving into the third week, Tuesday the 18th of August shows a tiny bit of promise with a 4 ft swell from the NW in the morning, but it’s a weak 5-second period and cross-shore wind. The energy is (66). Still not good. By Wednesday the 19th afternoon, we get the biggest swell of the whole run: 4 ft from the NNW with a 6-second period, and the combined energy finally hits moderate territory at (118). But the wind is a light cross-onshore, and it’s still tagged as poor surf conditions. That’s about as good as it gets, and it’s not saying much.

The rest of the forecast is more of the same: small, short-period swells with onshore or cross-onshore winds. Thursday the 21st of August morning is clean with a light offshore ESE wind at 6 mph and a 4 ft swell from the WNW (energy 85), but the period is only 5 seconds—choppy and weak. Saturday the 23rd of August morning goes glassy with a tiny 0.3 ft swell from the SW, but it’s got a long 14-second period. That’s a very long period for a beach break like this, meaning the waves will likely break too straight and be hard to ride here.

In short, there’s nothing to recommend. The whole 16-day window is a flat spell. For this area, a blank run like this isn’t unusual, but it’s still a bummer. Forecasts can change, but as it stands, leave the board in the van.

Stay patient,
Rusty

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