Widemouth Bay Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s on the cards for the Widemouth Bay stretch. Gotta be straight with you – this is a tough one. The whole 16-day window is looking pretty grim, with no real standout sessions to get excited about. The swell is there on and off, but the wind just won’t play ball, keeping things messy and lumpy for the most part.

The first proper surf we see is from the afternoon of Friday, 28 August, but it’s a write-off. We’ve got a 4ft swell from the WSW, but that’s getting hammered by a 19 mph cross-on SW wind, creating poor surf conditions. The water is a toasty 66°, which is 5° warmer than usual for this time of year – that’s much warmer than normal, so you won’t need a thick suit, but the waves are junk.

We roll through the rest of the weekend and into the start of the week with more of the same. Saturday morning sees a drop to 3ft, and while the wind swings cross-shore, it’s still a fresh 19 mph and lumpy. Saturday afternoon offers a brief moment of hope with a 3ft swell and an offshore wind, but combined energy is only moderate (152) and the wave comment says poor surf. Sunday morning bumps up to 4ft with a 9-second period, but it’s cross-shore again. The combined energy climbs to 270, but the wind is still a problem. Everything is just choppy and cross-onshore or cross-shore. There’s a period of clear skies and offshore wind on Tuesday morning, 1 September, with a 3ft swell from the W, but it’s still ranked as poor surf.

The pattern doesn’t let up. Wednesday, 2 September, gets nasty with a 25 mph cross-on wind and a short, messy 5ft, 6-second swell. The wind gets stronger again on Thursday and Friday, pushing 7ft swell from the west but with a fresh 19 mph onshore wind, ruining any chance of a clean wave. The combined energy hits 730 on Monday morning, 31 August, which is moderate, but the wind is all wrong.

The only glimmer in this whole outlook comes on Monday, 7 September, and Tuesday, 8 September. On Monday afternoon, we see a 7ft swell from the WSW with a 7-second period, and an offshore wind. The combined energy is 542. But it’s still only a 0/10 on the score. The real size shows up on Tuesday, 8 September, with a massive 15ft swell from the west, a 11-second period, and a combined energy of 4328 – that’s very strong wave energy. This is expert territory, way too big for beginners. The wind is 22 mph from the WNW, which is cross-on and lumpy, so even though it’s a big groundswell, the conditions are still messy. This is a big, powerful, and dangerous wave, only for the well-prepared and experienced.

After that, we get a brief, slightly better moment on Wednesday morning, 9 September, with a 5ft swell from the west, a 9-second period, and a light 6 mph onshore wind. The combined energy is 386, and it’s described as "marginal" – the best we get all forecast, but still not a call to drop everything for. The rest of the second week is a mix of small, wind-affected waves and big, blown-out ones.

Honestly, there’s no standout. If you’re desperate, the Tuesday 8 September swell is something to watch, but the wind is a deal-breaker. For the rest of the time, the beach-and-reef setup here might actually be more interesting for kite surfers than paddle surfers given the constant wind. Keep an eye on the forecasts, as things can change, but for now, I’d save the wax.

Rusty.

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