Al Gal Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s talk about what’s in store for the next couple of weeks at Al Gal.

Overall, it’s a tough, quiet run for the most part. We’ve got a whole lot of days with tiny surf and onshore breezes messing things up. The models are showing almost nothing for the first week and a half, so you’re looking at a long stretch with hardly a wave worth paddling out for. The energy is just flat, with combined swell energy numbers mostly down in the double digits. Things finally start to pick up around the last weekend of the month, but even then, it’s not firing by any means.

Looking at Sunday morning the 16th, we’ve got 3ft of swell from the WNW with a period of 8 seconds. The combined energy is 116 (moderate). The water is sitting around 85°, which is a touch warmer than normal for this time of year. It’s a cross-on breeze from the SW at 3 mph, so the surface isn’t clean – expect little wind ripples. Sunday afternoon gets worse with a choppy cross-on from the NW at 12 mph.

Monday the 17th and Tuesday the 18th follow a similar pattern: tiny 3ft swell, short period (7 seconds), combined energy dropping into the 80s and 90s. Winds stay cross-on. Not much to get excited about.

Wednesday the 19th through to Sunday the 23rd is a real dead zone. Swell drops to 1ft – 2ft, periods as short as 5 seconds, and combined energy barely hitting 44. Most of these days have a score of zero. You get a few glassy or clean windows, like Wednesday morning the 19th with a 3 mph NNE breeze going glassy, but the wave is only 2ft and the energy is 26 – really weak.

We go through a similar flat pattern right up to Friday morning the 28th – glassy conditions with a 3 mph NW wind but only 1ft of wave at 6 seconds and 14 energy. It’s a total write-off.

Then, finally, on Saturday morning the 29th, something shifts. Swell pushes up to 4ft from the WNW with an 8-second period, and the combined energy jumps to 223 (moderate). The wind is a light 3 mph from the SW, though still cross-on, keeping it from being perfect.

Sunday morning the 30th sees the biggest waves of the whole outlook: 5ft from the WNW, 8-second period, and combined energy of 294 (moderate). Wind is light cross-on from the WSW at 3 mph. This is the closest we get to a standout, but it’s a long way off – more than a week away – and the quality is still marginal.

Honestly, if you’re a beginner, even that 5ft swell on the 30th could be a little much, and for experienced surfers, the short period and persistent cross-on wind won’t deliver anything special. The break is consistent, but with such poor conditions forecast, it’s not going to produce.

Given the persistent cross-on winds and generally small, weak surf at a beach setup, if that last weekend’s swell gets a bit more size and the wind kicks up stronger, it might look more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing.

Stay patient, keep an eye on the forecasts, because it tends not to stay this flat forever.

Rusty.

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