Whitby Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let's be straight with you. Looking at the next couple of weeks, it's a bit of a rough patch for waves around here. We've got a lot of small, weak swell and dodgy winds to sift through before we get to anything worth paddling out for.

The first real chance for a surf doesn't come until Friday, the 28th of August. Up to that point, it's a long, frustrating stretch of tiny, messy waves and poor conditions. From the 17th through to the 27th, we're looking at a lot of onshore junk, strong winds, and surf well under 3 feet. There is a pulse of energy around the 20th, with the swell bumping to 4ft by Thursday afternoon, but it’s coming from the north with a fresh cross-onshore wind, making it lumpy and pretty much unsurfable. You'd be fighting a losing battle. This whole ten-day period is a write-off, plain and simple. The only thing that saves this window is the consistency of the swell, which means it won't stay this bad forever.

Now, let's talk about that Friday the 28th. Things start to turn. The morning still looks poor, but by Friday afternoon the wind swings around to the west at a slight 3 mph, and we get a little 4ft, 9-second swell from the north. The energy jumps. It's surfable, but it's very ordinary. The conditions are clean, but the waves are just nothing to write home about. It's a glimmer of hope, not the main event.

But hold on to your boards, because Saturday the 29th is the standout. The forecast has that morning looking glassy, with the wind dropping to that magical 3 mph from the WNW. We've got a 3ft swell from the north-west, with a period that stretches out to 12 seconds. The waves should have some proper shape to them. This is the window. This is where you want to be. Whitby (beach/pier) is the break to head for. It’s consistent, so there will be waves rolling through. It's an intermediate wave, so it’s not one for the groms, but for the rest of us, this is our chance.

After that, it's a bit of a fade-out. Sunday the 30th looks onshore and messy again, and the following Monday and Tuesday drop back under 2 feet. There's a bit of a ghost of a chance on Monday morning, the 31st, with a glassy morning, but the swell is only 2ft and weak.

So, there you have it. One solid morning to get excited about. Don't sleep on Saturday the 29th. The rest of the time, you might as well look at the kites, because the wind will be blowing more than the surf.

Rusty.

Read more