Castelejo Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s have a proper look at what’s on the cards for the next couple of weeks at Castelejo.

Right off the bat, I’ve got to be straight with you – it’s a grim start. For a solid week and a half, from now until about Saturday the 17th of July, there’s barely a ripple worth paddling for. The swell is tiny, mostly around 1.0 ft to 2 ft, and the wind is mostly onshore or cross-onshore, blowing from the NW and NNW. The wave energy is weak to moderate, with combined energy readings stuck between 28 and 161. It’s a frustrating stretch of small, choppy, messy surf. The water temp is sitting at 69°F, which is bang on average for this time of year, so at least you won’t be freezing while you’re sitting there waiting for nothing.

Things finally start to stir late on Friday the 17th. We get a bump in swell height to 3 ft, coming from the WNW with a short period of 7 seconds. The energy ticks up to 101, but the wind is a fresh cross-onshore from the N at 18 mph, making it lumpy. It’s still not what you’d call good.

The real action, and the only standout in this entire outlook, hits from Sunday the 19th of July onward. A solid pulse of swell arrives, pushing heights up to 6 ft on the Sunday morning, coming from the NNW. The combined energy jumps to 284, and it keeps building. By Monday the 20th, we’re looking at 7 ft to 8 ft of NW-NNW swell, with energy readings hitting 599 and 744. This is proper moderate to strong wave energy. However—and it’s a big however—the wind is a mess. It’s a fresh to strong cross-onshore, gusting from the N and NNW at 22 to 25 mph. That’s blowing straight across the swell and making conditions lumpy, messy, and choppy. At over 8 ft, this is strictly for the experienced crew, and even then, with that wind, it’s going to be a battle. The period is a short 7-8 seconds, so it’s a wind-swell combo, not a clean groundswell.

Honestly, with that much swell and that strong of a cross-onshore wind at a beach-and-reef setup like Castelejo, this looks more interesting for the kite surfers than for paddle surfing.

So, for the whole two weeks, there is no true "best" session that offers good waves with clean wind. The only window with significant size is that run from the 19th to the 23rd, but the wind just ruins it. It’s a frustrating forecast. Sometimes we get a blank run, and this is one of them.

Stay patient, check back in a few days, and hopefully the wind models shift.

Rusty.

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