El Arenal Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, let me just call it like I see it. This is a rough one for El Arenal.

The finder file is totally empty for the whole 16 days. That means there’s no surf I’d want to paddle out into. From Saturday the 1st of August all the way through Sunday the 16th, it’s just poor conditions. That’s a long stretch.

The wind is the main problem. It’s coming from the north or northeast, side-on or cross-on, and it’s blowing between 6 mph and 16 mph. That keeps the surface all chopped up and messy. The swell is small to moderate, but it’s mostly short-period windswell, so the waves don’t have any power or shape.

We do see a little pulse of longer-period energy from the NW around the 11th of August, with a period of 10 seconds, but the wind is still side-on and ruining it. The combined energy peaks at 618 on the 15th of August, which is moderate to strong energy (618), but it’s all windswell with a period of just 7 seconds and cross wind. That’s a choppy, blown-out mess.

The waves get bigger toward the end. By the 14th of August, we’re looking at 7 ft to 7 ft from the NE with an 8-second period and combined energy of 539 to 593. That’s some grunt, but it’s coming from the wrong direction for El Arenal, which needs a northerly swell. And the wind is still cross-on. That’s a recipe for a washing machine.

For a beginner-friendly sandbar, anything over 5 ft starts to get big, and when it’s over 7 ft with a cross-on wind, it’s not a fun paddle. Honestly, this setup looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing. The wind is always on, and the waves are blown out.

Water temp is about average for this time of year, nothing unusual.

I’m not going to pretend this is good. It’s a dry spell, plain and simple. But forecasts change, and a good window can pop up out of nowhere. Keep checking, but for now, leave the boards at home.

Rusty.

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