Chicama - El Point Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, I’m Rusty. Let’s talk about what’s on offer for a spot you’ve probably heard of—Chicama - El Point. Now, I gotta be straight with you: the next couple of weeks are a bit of a mixed bag, and there’s not a whole lot of pure magic in the immediate forecast. The real standout doesn’t show up until we’re looking at the second week, so we’ll have to work through some so-so conditions first.

The forecast starts on Friday, July 10, into the weekend, and honestly, it’s a struggle. We’ve got a moderate SW swell running around 3.3 ft to 3.6 ft, with a period of 13 to 14 seconds. There’s some reasonable energy there—about 613 (moderate) on Friday afternoon—but the wind is a persistent cross or cross-onshore from the S or SSW, blowing at 15 to 16 mph. That’s putting a chop on the surface and making it feel messy. The water temp is sitting at 68.9°, which is much warmer than usual for this time of year—over 3.6° above normal—so you’ll be comfortable in a shorty, but the surf quality is poor. Saturday and Sunday (July 11-12) are the same story: chest-high waves, but with that onshore wind, it’s a bit of a struggle. The morning of Sunday, July 12, has a slight air and very light wind, but still cross-on, so it’s marginal at best.

The first full week—Monday, July 13 through Thursday, July 16—doesn’t change much. Swell holds around 3.3 ft to 3.9 ft from the SW, period sticking at 12 to 14 seconds. The combined energy sits between 428 and 527 (moderate). The wind stays mostly cross or cross-onshore from the S, between 6 and 16 mph. There are a few windows of lighter wind—like Wednesday morning, July 15, with a slight air and cross-shore—but it’s still light cross-shore with ripples. The surf is marginal, not clean, and the tide or conditions seem to be robbing it of any real quality. If you’re desperate to get wet, you could paddle out, but it’s not going to be a session to write home about.

Now, here’s where we get a bit of hope. The swell starts to build from Sunday, July 19, into Monday, July 20. That Monday morning, July 20, we’re looking at 4.9 ft from the SW, period 12 seconds, and the combined energy jumps to 689 (strong). The wind is still cross from the SSE at 16 mph, so it’s lumpy, but there’s more push. The best window in the whole 16-day stretch, though, is Tuesday, July 21. The morning of Tuesday, July 21 has a gentle 9 mph S cross-shore, with a 5.2 ft SW swell at 13 seconds, and the combined energy is 894 (strong). That’s the biggest, most consistent swell we see, and the wind is only a gentle breeze—still cross-shore, but with only a slight cross-chop. It’s the best on offer: 5.2 ft of SW groundswell, with a period of 13 seconds, and the lightest wind of the bigger days. This is your window. The water is still warm, the crowds at Chicama - El Point can be rare, so you might have plenty of room. It’s a point break, so that long-period groundswell will wrap in nicely. Just keep in mind, the swell is over 5 ft, so it’s getting a bit meaty for beginners—more suited to intermediate and above.

After that, the swell drops back a bit. Wednesday, July 22, we see a shift to shorter period (8 seconds) and smaller size (3.9 ft), which is a step down in quality. The energy drops to 384 (weak). By Thursday, July 23, the period recovers to 9-10 seconds, but the wind is back up to 12 mph cross-shore, making it choppy again.

The last weekend, July 24-25, we get a weird one. A very long-period SW swell—22 seconds on Friday morning, July 24, and 20 seconds on Saturday morning, July 25—but the wave height is tiny: 1.6 ft to 2.0 ft. The combined energy is 467 to 651 (moderate to strong), but with such a small wave height, it’s going to be a long wait between sets. The wind is light cross-on or cross-shore on Saturday morning, July 25, with a slight air, so it’s glassy, but it’s just not enough wave to ride. The afternoons of those days are back to cross-onshore wind and choppy, 3.9 ft S swell.

So, in summary: the first week is a write-off with messy, onshore winds and marginal swell. The solid window is Monday, July 20 through Tuesday, July 21, with Tuesday, July 21 being the standout—5.2 ft SW groundswell, gentle cross-shore wind, and strong energy. After that, it fades. The very long-period groundswell on July 24-25 is promising but too

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