Castelejo Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s get straight into it. We’ve got a 16-day window for Castelejo, and I’ll be honest with you, it’s looking like a bit of a tough stretch. The whole period is plagued by poor conditions, so there’s no true standout day to get excited about. The first solid recommendation doesn’t appear until early August, so there’s a gap of a few days with nothing worth paddling out for.

The overall pattern is dominated by messy, cross-onshore winds, which are going to keep the surf chopped up and uninviting. The swell is small, mostly under 3ft, and the periods are short, meaning weak, crumbly waves. The water temperature is about average for the time of year.

Let’s start with the first possible window. On Saturday, August 1st, the morning has a 2ft swell from the west with a period of 9 seconds, and the combined swell energy is moderate at 157. But the wind is a moderate cross-onshore from the north at 15 mph, so it’s choppy. Not worth getting out of bed for. The afternoon is cross-onshore again, just a bit stronger.

Sunday, August 2nd, is more of the same, with a 3ft swell from the NNW but a short period of 6 seconds, so the energy is weak (127). The wind is a moderate cross-onshore again. The whole week looks like this: small, short-period swells, and cross-onshore winds. The only thing that changes is the direction of the chop.

The best, and I use that word loosely, chance comes mid-week, around Wednesday, August 5th. The morning sees a 3ft swell from the WNW with a period of 8 seconds, and moderate combined energy (127). The wind is a gentle cross-onshore, so it’s only fairly choppy. Still not clean, but it’s the least bad of the bunch. The following Saturday, August 8th, has a bigger 4ft swell from the west, but the period is short at 8 seconds, and the wind is a light cross-shore in the morning, so it’s the most glassy we’ll see, but the swell is still weak.

The real issue is that the wind is never offshore. It’s always cross-on or onshore, which is a killer for Castelejo, a beach and reef setup that needs clean conditions to shine. The swell is consistently small, and the energy is low. For the entire forecast, the combined energy rarely gets above 200, and most of the time it’s in the weak 50-100 range. There’s a pulse on Tuesday, August 11th, with the combined energy hitting 215 and a 5ft swell from the NW, but the wind is a moderate cross-onshore, ruining it. The next day, Wednesday, August 12th, shows a 5ft swell from the NW with a period of 8 seconds and strong energy (354), but it’s still cross-onshore. The size is getting into the “maybe too big for beginners” territory, but the wind is still poor, so it’s a messy, blown-out mess.

Honestly, for the whole 16 days, there’s not a single window where the stars align. The swell is too small, the wind is never clean, and the quality is consistently poor. If you’re a kite surfer, the strong winds and moderate swell might be interesting, but for paddle surfing, it’s a skip. The forecast can change, but right now, it’s a blank run. Keep an eye on it, but don’t hold your breath.

Rusty.

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