Widemouth Bay Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Right then, folks. Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s coming down the line for Widemouth Bay over the next couple of weeks.

First things first, I’ve got to be straight with you – the whole 16-day window is a bit of a shocker. There’s not a single proper stand-out session in the lot. Every single entry in the forecast is marked as "poor surf conditions," or just "surfable but very ordinary." The water is sitting at a very mild 65°, which is a fair bit warmer than usual for this time of year. That’s a bit of a novelty, but it won’t save the waves.

We start off on Friday, 4th September, with a lumpy 7ft swell from the west (563 combined energy), but it’s got a strong 16 mph wind blowing straight onshore. It’s messy. Saturday the 5th is a little smaller at 4ft, and the wind drops to a light breeze from the west, but it’s still onshore. The sea state is still poor. Sunday the 6th sees the swell drop right off to 2ft, with a cross-offshore breeze from the SSE that might clean it up a bit, but there’s next to no energy in the water (81 combined energy). Not worth paddling out for.

Monday the 7th ramps up a bit – a 6ft swell from the west with a very long 13-second period (1200 combined energy). That’s proper groundswell, but it’s all onshore wind again. That long period will make it sectiony and fat at a beach and reef setup like this. The same story repeats through Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday: waist-to-chest high swell, 6ft to 7ft, but always with a stiff onshore or cross-onshore wind. It’s going to be a lumpy, windblown mess.

The second week doesn’t offer much hope. From Saturday the 12th through to Wednesday the 16th, the swell drops to between 2ft and 5ft, with most of the time seeing cross-onshore winds. The water energy is low, between 47 and 196. There’s a brief window on Thursday the 17th where the wind swings offshore from the east, light at 6 mph, with a 3ft west swell (122 energy). The forecast says "surfable but very ordinary." It’s clean, but tiny. You might get a few ankle-biters on a longboard.

Friday the 18th sees a pulse of 5ft swell from the WNW, but the period is a short 6 seconds, and the wind is a fresh 19 mph offshore. That’s a clean, blown-out wall of white water – more of a kite session than a paddle session if you ask me. The final day, Saturday the 19th, is back to tiny 2ft, clean but weak.

Honestly, there’s nothing here to get excited about. No standout days. If you’re desperate for a paddle, Thursday the 17th morning with that light offshore wind and small clean waves is your best bet, but it’s not a highlight. For the rest of the period, the wind is just too strong and from the wrong direction. When the swell is over 5ft, like on the 7th and 8th, it’s blown out and messy. It’s the kind of setup that looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing.

Keep your eyes on the charts, but for now, I’d give the board a rest.

Rusty.

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