El Camotal Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s talk about what’s shaping up at El Camotal. Straight up, this is a bit of a tough stretch for paddle surfing. The water is sitting at 68°F which is much warmer than normal for this time of year, so that’s something nice for your skin, but the waves and wind aren't playing ball.

The 16-day window starts with a bit of a shaky start. We’ve got some swell on Friday August 7th, but it’s a cross-on mess with a solid 5ft SW swell (combined energy of 847). That’s moderate wave energy, plenty of push, but the winds are ruining it. The whole first week is plagued by cross-onshore winds, a lot of chop, and the wave quality just isn’t there. The surf stays pretty weak and messy through the first weekend and into the next week.

There’s a gap in any real recommendation from the 7th through to the 12th – just days of poor or marginal conditions. The swell drops off to almost nothing at times, with periods of zero energy.

The first real standout – and I mean the only one that gets my pulse up – comes on Friday August 14th. The morning session shows a clean 5ft SW swell (moderate to strong energy at 1001) with a 16-second period. That’s long-period groundswell, meaning proper shape and power, but the 16-second period at a beach break can make it a bit straight. Still, for this spot, that’s the best on offer. The cross-on wind is light, and the forecast says clear skies. It’s the best window of the whole outlook.

Beyond that, into the week of the 17th, we see similar 4ft to 5ft SW swells, but the wind is still cross-on, and the wave comment stays marginal. On Monday August 17th morning, there’s another 4ft SW swell (889 combined energy) with a 15-second period and light cross-on breeze – that’s a secondary option, but it’s not as clean as the 14th.

The very end of the outlook, on Saturday August 22nd, we finally get a morning with onshore wind from the WSW, but it’s only a 3ft SW swell (367 combined energy) and 12-second period. The wind is light, but it’s onshore, not offshore. It’s a marginal call.

Overall, the best bet is the morning of Friday August 14th. If you can only pick one session, that’s it. The rest is a lot of waiting around for a clean window. El Camotal is a consistent break, so it’s a bit frustrating to see the wind messing it up so often. The setup is a beach, so with the consistent cross-onshore chop, this stretch might actually look more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing.

Stay patient, and keep an eye on that 14th.

Rusty.

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