El Anclote Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s brewing in the water.

Right off the bat, this 16-day stretch is a slow burner. We’ve got a run of tiny, weak surf for the first week and a half. The first real call to get wet is Wednesday the 8th, but honestly, it’s pretty ordinary. El Anclote is seeing a super long-period SSW groundswell of 16 seconds, but only 2ft on Wednesday morning. The water is way warmer than it should be for July – 88°F – and that’s a solid 5°F above normal, which is notable.

Right now, the combined swell energy is weak (239), and the wind is a light cross-onshore. Small, rippled waves with no push. Wednesday afternoon goes glassy, but the swell drops to 2ft. It’s surfable, but barely. Same story Thursday through the weekend: tiny 1ft to 2ft waves, mostly clean, especially with some afternoon offshore NW winds on Thursday and Saturday. But when the swell is this small, it’s a longboard or a foamie kind of session, if you’re keen.

The real standouts don’t kick in until the second week. The first highlight is Friday the 17th afternoon. The swell bumps up to 4ft from the SW, period drops to a punchy 13 seconds, and combined energy jumps to strong (411). The wind is glassy from the SSW. That’s a proper window of clean, workable surf. It’s still beginner-friendly at this size.

Then the big one: Saturday the 18th afternoon. Swell hits 5ft from the SW, period holds at 13 seconds, and energy is very strong (954). The wind goes offshore from the NW. That’s the best call of the whole outlook. Clean, solid waves for experienced surfers – at 5ft it’s getting a bit much for beginners. This is the session to circle on the calendar.

Sunday the 19th morning is messy with cross-onshore wind, but Sunday afternoon turns it back on: offshore N wind, 4ft SW swell, and good energy (569). Good clean waves again.

Monday the 20th starts glassy in the morning with 3ft from the W, and stays clean through the afternoon. Then Tuesday and Wednesday bring more size – up to 6ft and 7ft on Wednesday the 22nd – but the wind gets messy. Wednesday PM has a cross-shore breeze and that 7ft is only for the experienced crew.

Bottom line: the first week is flat and ordinary. If you’ve got patience, the afternoon of July 17th and especially the afternoon of July 18th are the gems. Clean, solid swell, and good direction for the break. El Anclote is a reef, so that long-period groundswell will hold up well here.

This is Rusty, signing off.

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