El Arenal Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Hey folks, Rusty here. Let’s cut to it. The surf outlook for El Arenal is pretty grim for the next two solid weeks. The water is 76°F, which is a touch warmer than usual for this time of year.

We’ve got a long stretch of small, weak, and chopped-up surf from the 15th all the way through the 29th. Wave heights will mostly be in the 3 to 5-foot range, but the periods are short – under 8 seconds – which means the waves will be steep, crumbly and without any punch. The wind is the real killer here. It’s almost always cross or cross-onshore, never clean, so the surface is going to be bumpy and frustrating. There are a few lighter wind mornings, like the 17th and 20th, but the swell is still tiny and junky. There’s no standout, no “go day.” It’s just a long, frustrating run of poor surf.

The only blip of interest is right at the end of the window, on Sunday the 30th. That morning we’ve got the biggest swell of the period at 6 feet, with more energy behind it (439). But it’s still short-period (7 seconds) and the wind is cross-shore, so it’s going to be a messy, bumpy 6 feet. For beginners, that’s too big, and for everyone else, it’s likely to be a closeout mess. That’s more than a week out, so it’s promising but not something to bank on.

Honestly, with that persistent cross-shore wind and chop, this setup looks more interesting for the kite surfers than us paddle surfers. We need a serious change in the weather to make this place work. I’d be saving my energy for something better.

Rusty, out.

Read more