Surf Report for the New Year’s Bank Holiday Weekend
East Coast
It is looking like there will be some waves on the east coast tomorrow with Wicklow and Wexford both looking like they will have some waves with the forecast showing up to 3ft conditions in Wicklow. It is showing that the winds will be onshore in the morning, cross shore by lunch and then offshore for the afternoon with the peak of the swell being around lunchtime. Sunday is showing marginal conditions with maybe 1ft with moderate offshore winds before going flat for New Year’s Day.
South Coast
It is looking big and onshore for Saturday and Sunday in Tramore on the the beach with the winds causing the main issues with direct onshore Saturday with the swell saying 11ft @ 9 but with the direct onshore winds this will look like 3-4ft blown over so not great conditions. Sunday shows the winds to be more cross shore but strong enough to mess up the waves and make it dodgy. Monday is shaping up to be a really nice day with 2-3ft conditions and bigger on sets with light onshore breezes only.
South West
Conditions in Garretstown are looking big and onshore for Saturday and Sunday before turning good for Monday with 4ft conditions with light offshore breezes all day so save the arms for Monday. Inch Beach in Kerry is showing some crazy conditions for Saturday and Sunday so avoid the area but then Monday turns to light onshore winds with 4-5ft conditions first thing before dropping back to 3-4ft later on when the winds drop. Conditions will probably still have a bump on them from the two days of onshores but that’s to be expected with tempeh winds the day before.
West Coast
Lahinch is a similar affair with massive onshore conditions for Saturday and Sunday before Monday turns really nice with the charts showing 8-10ft but with this coming directly from the west it will lose a little size and probably come in at more like 4-6ft conditions with light onshore winds all day but this should still have good conditions for surfing with a chop on the wave from the previous few days onshore winds but Monday is definitely the better of the three days over the bank holiday. The tide is high at 8am on Monday so allow 2 hours after before getting in.
North West
Strandhill is showing 3-4ft on Saturday with winds blowing moderate to strong from the south mostly so cross offshore but with the gusts I would be very careful of where you get in and where you get blown to so keep a track of your position to allow yourself to get out safely. Sunday is maxed out for Strandhill with the only spot that might have shelter being Aughris in by the cliff as the winds are moderate West South West all day. Monday sees the conditions start out quite big for Strandhill so I would check Streedagh for the conditions first thing but these will drop down throughout the day. In the Bundoran area it looks like Tullan will have a wave Saturday but the winds will be moderate to strong cross shore so careful checking the conditions near the cliff edge but it should have 3-4ft conditions but it will be messy with the strength of the winds. Sunday will be maxed out everywhere before Monday turns ok with the conditions starting onshore and way too big for Tullan but Rossnowlagh should have a decent sized wave in the 4ft plus size getting cleaner as the day goes on and the winds drop and the swell goes to a more manageable size with even Tullan taking shape by the afternoon.
North Coast
So all of my charts have been getting it wrong for Portrush lately so I am using pure instinct at this stage! Saturday is showing small 2ft conditions for East Strand with moderate to strong offshore winds with Sunday showing a little better on the swell size at a more solid 2-3ft all day with Monday looking better with the winds looking offshore from the other side blowing from the Arcadia end with 3ft conditions all day. Fingers crossed that any of that happens as Surfline, Windy.ty, Ventusky, Windguru and YR have all been lying to me lately! Check out Andy from Trogg’s updates on Instagram and Facebook for the eyeball reports and updates from the roving surf reporter Doris!
Surf Safe and Enjoy and Happy New Year, hope 2024 brings waves of happiness to all,
Thanks to all for following throughout the year, hopefully I’ve helped a few of you get a few waves this year and helped to put a smile on some faces. One good wave can make your whole day! As some are not on Facebook, I will be sharing this report each week on Threads so please direct friends there if they can’t access or don’t use Facebook.
Col,
Surf Improvers