Cordoama Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let's take a good, hard look at what's coming down the pipe for Cordoama. You can feel the potential in the air, but old man wind and a messy swell direction are going to be playing games with us for a while.

First things first, this is a long wait. Looking at the whole 16-day window, the first time there's anything even worth paddling out for is really Wednesday morning, the 19th of August. Before that Tuesday, the 18th, the conditions are just poor—a small, short-period swell from the NNW with onshore or cross-shore wind. You're just fighting a battle you can't win.

So Wednesday morning, the 19th. That's our first real glimmer of hope. The swell is a tiny 3ft from the NNW, with a period of 8 seconds, so the energy is weak (73). But the wind... the wind is offshore from the SE at 9 mph, which is clean. The report says "gentle offshore and clean." That's a major positive. For a break like Cordoama that's exposed to the swell, a clean surface is everything. The water temp is sitting at 67°, which is a solid 4° colder than normal for this time of year—that's a noticeable bite, so you'll want a decent wetsuit. It's not going to be big, and the conditions are "surfable but very ordinary," so don't expect perfection, but it's the pick of the early days. The afternoon on the 19th, the wind swings cross-offshore and the swell drops to 2ft, so it gets smaller quick.

After that, we hit a dry spell. From Thursday the 20th all the way through to the end of the month, the picture is dominated by onshore and cross-onshore winds and lumpy, choppy conditions. The swell does build, a lot. Look at Saturday the 22nd and Sunday the 23rd of August. We get solid 7ft to 8ft swell from the NNW, with combined wave energy skyrocketing to 814. That's a powerful, serious ocean. But the wind is howling onshore from the NNW at 22 mph. The report calls it "poor surf conditions" and "unknown" wave state for most of it. The raw power is there, but with that wind, it's just a washing machine. Only the most experienced chargers with big-wave boards would even want to look at it, and honestly, this setup looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing. For the average surfer, it's a no-go.

We get a mini lull around the 26th, with the swell dropping to tiny levels (1ft), but then it starts pumping again. The first week of September (the 1st and 2nd) shows more of the same story: building swell (5ft to 5ft from the NW), moderate to strong wave energy (up to 299), but ruined by fresh cross-onshore or onshore winds. It's the same frustrating pattern.

If I had to pick a standout from this entire 16-day forecast, it would be the early window on Wednesday morning, August 19th. It's the only time for a long while where the wind is truly offshore and the conditions are "clean." The swell is small and weak, but for a surfer who just wants to get a clean glide on a chest-high wave without getting hammered by the wind, that's your window. It's not a classic, big swell day, but it's the only clean option on the table.

For the rest of the period, just keep an eye on the forecasts. It tends not to stay this messy forever.

Stay stoked,
Rusty

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