El Camotal Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s get into it. We’ve got a tricky 16-day window ahead, with a mix of messy, fading, and rebuilding swell. The real standout is a very specific day in the second week, but you’ll need patience.

The forecast kicks off with a solid, but not clean, pulse of swell on Monday the 27th. We’re looking at El Camotal exposed to a solid SW groundswell, with a 4ft to 5ft face. The period is a big draw – 16 to 18 seconds – that’s proper groundswell energy, and the combined energy is very strong (1216). The downside is the wind. It’s a stiff cross-on from the south at 9 mph to 12 mph, which is going to keep the surface choppy and a bit lumpy. The water temp is a warm 71°, which is much warmer than usual for this time of year. This is a session for the experienced; the swell is big enough to be fun, but the wind will make it a fight. The break is consistent, so you’ll get waves, but they won't be pretty. It’s a marginal call, and the call is for a morning or afternoon session that’s more about the raw power than the perfection.

The first few days of the week continue with a similar story. Tuesday the 28th still has a big 5ft SW swell with a 15-second period, but the wind stays cross-on and choppy. The energy is still very strong (1217). By Wednesday the 29th, the swell drops a touch to 5ft, but the wind actually turns offshore from the WSW early in the morning at just 3 mph. This is a window of cleaner conditions, but the swell period is dropping to 14 seconds, and the energy is still moderate (818). The afternoon sees the wind swing back to cross-on.

The rest of the week and into the weekend is a steady decline. Thursday the 30th and Friday the 31st see the swell fade to 3ft, the period drops to 12 seconds, and the wind stays cross-on. The combined energy falls to the low hundreds (317 to 487). This is poor surf, small and choppy. The first week of August is completely flat and uninspiring. From the 1st to the 4th, the swell is down to 2ft to 3ft, energy is weak (under 355), and the wind is a persistent cross-on. There’s a real gap of about 5 days here with no quality surf on offer.

The second week gets interesting again. Starting on Wednesday the 5th of August, we see a new, longer-period SW groundswell start to build. The swell is still small (2ft to 3ft), but the period jumps to 14 to 15 seconds, and the energy picks up to 500. The wind is still cross-on, but lighter. The real standout arrives on Friday the 7th of August. The forecast shows a 4ft to 4ft SW swell with a 15-second period, and combined energy is strong (734). The morning session on Friday the 7th is the best of the entire outlook. The wind is a light 3 mph from the SW? That’s nearly glassy, and it’s the cleanest we’ll see the whole time. This is a long period groundswell, so it’s going to be a bit more lined up, but the wind being light is the key. This is the one to circle. The rest of the second week fades out again, with small, choppy conditions returning.

To sum it up: The first week has power but is messy. The absolute best window is Friday morning, August 7th, at El Camotal. The swell is solid at 4ft from the SW, the period is long, and the wind is near glassy. Get on it. The rest of the time, you’re fighting the wind or the small swell.

Rusty.

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