El Camotal Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G'day, Rusty here. Look, I've had a good look at what's on offer over the next couple of weeks, and I gotta be straight with you – it's a proper quiet spell for El Camotal. The 16-day window is not throwing us any standouts, so we're mostly just watching and waiting for something to spark.

The journey starts with a bit of a flat patch. From Sunday the 2nd right through to Tuesday the 4th, it's all poor surf conditions with tiny swell and cross-onshore winds. The combined energy is weak, sitting around 306 on Sunday morning, dropping to between 124 and 199 on Monday and Tuesday. The swell is a meager 2 ft to 3 ft from the SW, with a period of 12 to 14 seconds, but it's just not doing anything with the wind. You're better off staying home.

We start to see a little pulse building from Wednesday the 5th. The swell picks up to 4 ft from the SW, with a period of 13 seconds, and the combined energy climbs to 437 on Wednesday morning. It's still marginal though, with light cross-onshore winds keeping things a bit messy. This trend continues into Thursday the 6th, with the swell hanging around 3 ft to 3 ft but the period stretching out to 16-18 seconds from the SW. The energy jumps to 871 on Thursday morning, which is moderate, but the wind swings to a moderate breeze from the S, making it choppy in the afternoon. Not great.

Friday the 7th is the closest we get to a highlight, but it's still not a full standout. The swell hits 5 ft from the SW, with a long 15-second period, and the energy is solid at 849 in the morning. The wind is a gentle breeze from the SSW, so it's cross-onshore, but the size is there. It's a bit much for beginners at 5 ft, and the long period means the sets will be more powerful, but surfable for those with some experience. The afternoon sees the same size but the wind picks up, making it choppy. If you're keen, the morning of Friday the 7th is your best bet, but it's still a marginal call.

After that, it drops off quick. Saturday the 8th sees the swell drop to 3 ft-4 ft, and from Sunday the 9th through to Wednesday the 12th, it's back to tiny 0.3 ft to 2 ft swells from the SW and NW, with poor energy readings as low as 5. It's a big gap of nothing.

We get a second pulse from Thursday the 13th. The swell builds to 2 ft-3 ft from the SW, with a long 18-19 second period, and the energy is moderate at 342 on Thursday morning. Still marginal, with cross-onshore winds. Friday the 14th sees the swell push to 4 ft from the SW, with a 16-second period, and energy of 728 in the morning. The wind is a gentle breeze from the S, so still cross-onshore, but it's a little more size. By Saturday the 15th, the swell is 4 ft from the SW, with a 14-second period, and energy of 573. The wind is lighter, a light breeze from the SSW, which helps. Finally, on Sunday the 16th, the swell drops to 2 ft-3 ft from the SW, with a 16-17 second period, and energy of 523 to 641. The wind is light cross-onshore, so it's still a bit bumpy. The last call on Monday the 17th is 4 ft from the SW, with a 15-second period, and energy of 831, but again, cross-onshore wind.

The water temperature is about average for this time of year, so nothing unusual there. The optimum swell direction here is from the NW, and we're getting SW swells, so it's not the ideal angle for El Camotal. The wind is never offshore, so the surf is always a bit blown out. For a beginner spot that's consistent, this is a tough run. The sets from the longer period swells might make it a bit more interesting for paddle out, but the cross-onshore wind is a killer.

Overall, there's no standout session in this outlook. The best of a bad bunch is the morning of Friday the 7th, with 5 ft swell and moderate energy, but it's still marginal. The second week looks a bit more promising with the pulse from the 13th to the 17th, but it's a long way out and the wind is still a problem. Keep your eye on it, but don't expect much.

Rusty.

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