El Brusco Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, it’s Rusty here, and I gotta be straight with you – the outlook for El Brusco over the next 16 days is a real bummer. We’re looking at a long stretch of flat, weak, and messy conditions. The only break on the radar is El Brusco, an advanced, fairly consistent spot that’s exposed to the NW. But the water’s a touch warmer than normal at 74°, about 3° above average, which is notable but won’t help the surf.

The first recommendation doesn’t show up until way down the line. For the first two weeks, from the 8th of August through the 21st of August, it’s just a parade of poor surf. Waves are tiny, mostly under 3 ft, with periods all over the place – short, choppy 4-second stuff, and some long-period 12-second groundswells that just don’t have any size behind them. The wind is almost always cross-on, with a few days of onshore or glassy conditions, but the swell energy is pathetic, with combined energy numbers mostly in the 30s, 40s, 50s, and 60s – weak as dishwater. The only exception is a couple of spots on the 9th and 10th where the energy bumps up to the low 100s, but the wave comment still says “poor surf conditions.” This is a dead zone.

Then, around the 22nd of August, we start to see a little pulse. Saturday morning has 3 ft NW swell with a 9-second period, and the combined energy jumps to 133 (moderate). By Saturday afternoon, it’s 3 ft NW swell, 9-second period, and energy hits 167. Still, the wind is cross-on or onshore, keeping it messy. The wave comment remains “poor surf conditions.”

Finally, the only real event in this whole forecast is on the 23rd of August – Sunday morning. We get a 8 ft NW swell with an 11-second period, and the combined energy rockets up to 1176 (strong). That’s the standout. The wind is a light cross-shore, so it won’t be glassy, but it’s manageable. For an advanced break like El Brusco, 8 ft is solid, expert-level stuff. That afternoon, it bumps up to 8 ft with the same period, energy hitting 1625, but the wind swings cross-on and gets a bit stronger, making it choppier. The wave comment is “marginal surf forecast or questionable tide conditions,” so it’s not a guarantee, but compared to everything else, this is the one day that might be worth a look. It’s a long way off, so keep your fingers crossed. For a fairly consistent spot to have this much dead time, it’s a rough run. Hopefully, the forecasts will change.

- Rusty

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