Author: Col

Surf Report for the weekend of the 20th and 21st January

East Coast
It is looking like there are going to be some decent sized waves coming to the East Coast this weekend with both Saturday and Sunday showing good swell but there are warnings with that. For Saturday the conditions are looking like there could be 2-3ft conditions in Wicklow with the the winds moderate to strong from the south south west which means that the conditions will have clean waves in Wicklow but the winds may be strong cross offshore. Saturday is the day for those who want a safer was as conditions for Sunday brings Storm Isha which has conditions looking to jump. Sunday looks to have much stronger winds with the swell being pushed up the channel by those winds with the swell showing 3-5ft conditions but the wind strength is very strong so I would recommend getting out on Sunday before the winds really pick up but obviously care should be taken if and lean on your experience and if you haven’t been out in winds of this strength as the currents may be stronger than you can paddle with the strength of the winds so if you are venturing in the water, do not do so alone and ensure that someone knows where you are at all times. Also ensure that you keep a close eye on your position in the water and don’t be afraid to get out if you notice that you are drifting and cannot paddle against the drift. If in doubt, don’t go out. There will be plenty of waves another day for sure.

South Coast
With that swell being pushed up the east coast from the southerly winds, this means that the south coast is going to be howling onshore with big messy conditions for Tramore with 25-39mph winds Saturday and up to to 60mph Sunday so give it a miss. The angle of the winds will also leave very few spots for shelter.

South West
Garretstown is also going to be a spot that is maxed out and unsafe for surfing so give it a miss on both Saturday and Sunday with big swells and big winds.
Inch Beach in Kerry is showing conditions that are looking big on Saturday and bigger on Sunday but not in a good way with Saturday showing Inch to be verging on maxed out so I would avoid. Sunday is going to be massive and onshore so equally avoid. There may be a chance of a wave on the north of the peninsula on Saturday that may have a cross offshore but this will be blowing constantly so check it but be prepared for lots of winds. Sunday is a duvet day for all spots.

West Coast
Lahinch has a good swell coming in Saturday that is probably going to bring some overhead 6-8ft conditions but with the winds blowing directly from the south it means that the south of the beach may have a tiny bit of shelter but for the most, it will probably be cross onshore all day. Tides are high on Saturday at 1pm with 2 hours out of the water either side of high leaving a limited window for any waves. Sunday is a no go so avoid.

North West
Conditions in Strandhill are showing 4-5ft waves with the winds blowing moderate to strong cross shore all day so expect windy bumpy conditions. Some of the northerly facing spots like Enniscrone may have a clean wave but those winds will have nowhere to go but straight up the front of the 2-3ft waves and may even make it a struggle to get into the waves. Sunday is just too strong in the winds to consider surfing. In the Bundoran area it is looking like Tullan will have a wave but the winds are showing moderate cross shore gusting strong at times which will have a small bit of shelter in by the cliff but the waves will be coming in with quite a bit of bump to the wave so it could be surfable at 4ft waves but the winds will pose a problem to the cleanliness of the waves. Sunday will be maxed out at Tullan and onshore for everywhere. You might get Streedagh if the winds don’t blow as strong as forecast but the winds are due to pick up very early in the day.

North Coast
I am a little disappointed that the winds are blowing from the south for the weekend yet Portrush is not getting much swell on Saturday with 1-2ft max and there is a chance that the winds may blow this swell off. Sunday is showing what looks to be a nice size swell but the winds blowing up to 55mph means that it’s just too dodgy to risk going near the waves. Worth a look but please exercise caution.

As always with a Storm approaching, I am not advocating for anyone to do anything dangerous so please, know your limits, your abilities and do not venture out into conditions that you are either not comfortable with or have not experienced before. Never surf alone and always tell yourself, there will be waves next week or the week after, you need to be alive to surf them so exercise caution and there is no shame in walking away to surf another day.

Surf Safe and Enjoy,

Col,
Surf Improvers

Surf Report for the weekend of the 13th and 14th of January

East Coast
It is looking flat on the east coast for the coming days with no sign of any swell that will bring waves.

South Coast
Tramore is looking like the report is showing some good waves but the conditions will only bring 1-2ft at a push for the weekend with offshore breezes for both days. Sunday looks the better day for hitting 2ft but Saturday will struggle.

South West
Conditions in Garretstown are showing 2ft for Saturday with a good 12 second period and light breezes in the offshore direction with Sunday showing similar until later in the day when it may pick up towards late afternoon. Inch Beach in Kerry is looking like a 2ft conditions and while the winds are showing moderate offshore, I would expect that these conditions will be lighter when you take land drag into account as the winds are coming from the east. Sunday sees the swell come from a lot more south which means that it will probably be too small by the time it bends into the bay for much surfing.

West Coast
Lahinch has been firing all week and it has been hard to see the reports from the comfort of the office but c’est la vie. This weekend in Lahinch is looking like it is going to drop down significantly from what has been seen all week. It is looking like Saturday will probably only hit 2ft for most of the day with the odd set bringing a little more push but it is direct west so will probably favour the right hand bank out in front of Vaughans. Sunday sees the primary swell come from the north west with a small secondary southerly swell but these are going to lose size as they bend into Lahinch with probably only 1-2ft at best with more longboard conditions. Tides are high in the morning and evening outside of daylight hours but be sure to be out of the water by about 4.30 on Saturday and by dark on Sunday.

North West
Strandhill is looking small for the weekend with 1-2ft for Saturday and probably more 1 than 2ft for Sunday with light onshore breezes Saturday that are barely registering with Sunday bringing similar from the north. In the Bundoran area, it is looking like it is going to be a Tullan only weekend with a max of 2ft Saturday and probably similar for Sunday with light breezes of varying directions all weekend but all less than 10mph.

North Coast
Conditions in Portrush are showing northwesterly onshore conditions with 2ft waves Saturday with 10-15mph onshore winds leaving very little space for shelter on any of the spots but given the swell direction, it will favour East Strand best or Whiterocks. Sunday sees the swell jump but also the strength of the winds with 2-3ft blown over from the onshore 20mph winds blowing directly from the north.

Surf Safe and enjoy,

Col,
Surf Improvers

Surf Report for the weekend of the 6th and 7th of January

East Coast
After a good run of swell from all of the storms on the east coast it is looking like it is going to be small to flat this weekend in Wicklow with no swell due until Wednesday or Thursday when a small onshore burst will come in from the north west.

South Coast
There have been some good waves seen down in Tramore on Thursday and Friday but the weekend is looking like it won’t break anything above 1ft for either Saturday or Sunday with light offshore winds on both days.

South West
Conditions in Garretstown are a little better with the waves showing 2ft for Saturday with light cross offshore winds with the waves best in the morning as the swell size looks to drop all day so could be less than 2ft by dark. Sunday is showing small to start but by lunchtime it looks like it could jump to 2-3ft with a good 12 to 13 second period with direct offshore winds which could be some nice conditions on the beach. Inch Beach in Kerry is showing some nice conditions on Saturday with the swell coming directly from the west so this should bring 2-3ft conditions to the beach for days with light offshore breezes which will favour longer boards. The forecast for Sunday is predicting moderate cross shore winds from the south east but these winds are not visible on the charts for other nearby spots so I would expect this to be an anomaly but if the direction is right then the winds are cross offshore but the strength is questionable with waves in the 4-5ft region.

West Coast
It is looking like a nice weekend in Lahinch with the conditions showing a swell on Saturday that has a touch of north in the swell which may reduce the size of the waves down slightly which would make me think that conditions should be 2-3ft on the beach with the winds only blowing light breezes which should be really nice. Sunday sees the swell swing to south westerly which is a much better direction for the beach and this should allow better waves to come up into the bay with 3-4ft conditions but with the 13 second swell there could be larger sets coming through and offshore winds all day so this could be really nice. Tides are high at 1pm Saturday but it’s a very small high with only a 1.5m difference between low and high so it will move slowly and you can probably surf through the high tide but to be safe I’d leave an hour either side out of the water. Sunday’s tide is a little bigger so leave 1.5 hours either side of 2pm to safely exit or enter the water.

North West
Strandhill is looking like it could be nice on Saturday with a 3ft wave and only light onshore breezes all day. Sunday looks a little smaller but starting off with 2-3ft and dropping down mid morning to 1-2ft with the odd bigger set due to the 14 second period with light offshore winds. Probably still ok for longboards or foamies. In the Bundoran area it is looking like a really nice Tullan weekend with 3-4ft conditions with light breezes Saturday followed by a 2ft day on Sunday with light offshore breezes so it looks pretty good for all boards but will probably favour bigger boards as the tides have very little movement between low and high.

North Coast
Portrush is showing 2-3ft for Saturday with a light onshore wind all day with Sunday looking smaller at 1-2ft but with light offshore breezes. Even though it is onshore Saturday I would still take an onshore wave over an offshore ripple.

Surf Safe and Enjoy,

Col,
Surf Improvers

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