Algarrobo Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s have a honest look at what the next couple of weeks are serving up for Algarrobo.

Overall, it’s a bit of a frustrating forecast. There’s a real strong window of opportunity right at the start, but the rest of the period is dominated by messy, cross-onshore winds that chop up any decent swell. After that first good session, we’re looking at a long, drawn-out stretch of poor conditions all the way through to mid-September. There are glimmers of bigger energy, but the wind just won’t play ball.

The standout by a mile is Monday morning, 31 August at Algarrobo. This is where you want to be. The water’s sitting at 57°, which is pretty much bang on average for this time of year. We’ve got a clean 5 ft swell rolling in from the WSW, with a solid 12-second period – that’s proper groundswell energy. The combined energy is moderate at 593, and with glassy, 3 mph winds from the SSE, the surface will be like a mirror. It’s going to be clean, punchy, and well-shaped. This is the best on offer, no question.

Monday afternoon sees the wind shift and it gets a bit trickier – cross-on at 6 mph, which leaves the waves a little bumpy. Not a write-off, but not the gem of the morning.

After that, things go south. From Tuesday 1 September right through to Tuesday 15 September, it’s a near-constant run of cross-onshore winds, mostly from the SSW, gusting between 9 and 22 mph. There’s some serious energy in the water at times – like on Friday 4 September morning, the combined energy hits 1134 (strong) with 4 ft of WSW swell, and Saturday 5 September morning sees a 19-second period swell with 1169 energy. But the wind is just ruining it. It’s choppy, lumpy, and the surf quality is poor. Unless you’re a kite surfer, there’s nothing to get excited about. Even the bigger 6 ft pulse on Friday afternoon is a messy 8-second period with a fresh cross-onshore breeze – expert only territory, and even then it’s not appealing.

There’s a slight tease on Sunday morning, 6 September. Offshore winds from the WSW at just 3 mph, with a 5 ft, 15-second period swell. Sounds perfect, right? But the combined energy is very high at 1181, and the surf break here is a reef/pier combo. With that long-period swell and that much power, it might close out or be very straight at the beach, but at a reef setup, it could hold. The problem is the guidance flags it as marginal – possibly a tide issue – and the wind description is “unknown,” so treat it as promising but uncertain. Still, it’s the next best thing after Monday morning.

Honestly, for the rest of the run, save your energy. It’s a long gap of poor conditions from Tuesday afternoon right through to the end of the forecast on 15 September. The swell drops off, the wind stays nasty, and it’s just not worth paddling out for.

In short, make the call for Monday 31 August morning at Algarrobo. That’s your session. Everything else is a gamble or a kite session.

Rusty.

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