Thurso East Alert Guide

Scotland, United Kingdom · part of the Thurso East spot guide

Thurso is forecast-only — the nearest useful buoy is roughly 200 km away — so this is a model-swell alert with a through-north window. The height below is open-ocean; because the swell wraps and jacks over the flagstone, the face can equal or exceed it.

The forecaster's checklist

1. 1.Want swell from the north-northwest quadrant (core northwest to north), with west-northwest content adding hollowness; genuine north is required to wrap onto the reef.
2. 2.Look for period of 10 seconds or more, ideally 12-to-15-second groundswell, not short-period wind chop.
3. 3.Get the tide right — mid and pushing is prime; high tide floods the reef and fattens it, low tide gets shallow with the reef close to the drop-in.
4. 4.Score an offshore south, southwest or southeast wind; north-through-northwest winds (the swell quadrant) chop it up.
5. 5.Gear for the cold — a hooded 5/4 or 6/5/4 with boots and gloves is mandatory in season — and respect the shallow flagstone and remoteness.

Local winds & tide

Best wind: S–SW–SE offshore — from 135° to 225° (SE–SW).

Genuinely tide-sensitive though not modelled — best at mid, pushing tide; high tide floods the reef and kills the barrel, and low tide gets shallow with the reef close to the drop-in. Treat a fired alert as a cue to check the tide clock.

Dial it in