Whitsand Bay and Tregantle Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s take a long, hard look at what we’ve got coming up for our stretch of coast. I’ll be honest with you, it’s a tough one. We’re staring down the barrel of a long, quiet run with very little to get excited about.

The whole 16-day window is a struggle. The surf is tiny, the winds are mostly messy, and the few moments that could be called surfable are still pretty ordinary. You’re not going to see any proper swell until we get into the very tail end of the first week, and even then, it’s compromised by onshore winds.

We start off on Saturday the 22nd with nothing. Absolutely nothing. Swell is a pathetic 0.7ft from the WSW with a period of just 10 seconds and weak energy (24). The water temp is 65°, which is a touch warmer than normal for this time of year. Sunday the 23rd and Monday the 24th are more of the same – tiny, weak waves and cross-off winds that, while clean, just don’t have any power behind them. This flat spell drags on through Tuesday the 25th and Wednesday the 26th, with swell barely creeping up to 1ft.

Finally, on Thursday the 27th, we see a pulse of energy. Swell jumps to 5ft from the SW, with moderate energy (275) behind it. But here’s the kicker – it’s coming with a short, weak period of 8 seconds and a cross-on south wind that’ll chop it up. This is not the clean, lined-up surf we want. It’s a messy, blown-out mess. Friday the 28th is bigger again, with 5-6ft from the SW and WSW, and energy climbing to 286, but again, the period is a poor 7 seconds. It’s onshore and lumpy, making it a real struggle.

Saturday the 29th and Sunday the 30th are a write-off with onshore winds and choppy conditions, though Sunday morning the 30th does offer a tiny glimmer. The wind turns cross-off from the NNW, and with 5ft from the SW, it’s clean. But the period is still only 7 seconds, and the overall quality is marginal at best. It’s a maybe, not a goer.

Monday the 31st is a real teaser. The wind goes completely glassy, which is beautiful. Swell drops back to 3ft from the SW, but the period is still short at 8 seconds and energy is weak (87). You’ll get a few crumbly, weak waves, but it’s not going to be a session to write home about. After that, it’s back to tiny, weak surf and offshore winds that are clean but produce almost no rideable waves right through to the end of the forecast on Sunday the 6th of September.

The best we can honestly say is Sunday morning the 30th of August at Whitsand Bay and Tregantle (Cornwall). With a 5ft SW swell and clean cross-off winds from the NNW, it’s the most surfable window we have. It’s not a standout by any stretch, but in this dire run, it’s the closest we get. Expect inconsistent waves, and it might get busy – crowds are often an issue here. The swell direction (SW) is a match for the optimum, but with that short period, don’t expect any real grunt.

Honestly, for most of this period, the beach setup with the strong winds and weak swell looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing. Keep your board in the van and your eye on the charts. It tends not to stay this poor for long.

Rusty.

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