El Camotal Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, let me look at what we've got here. It’s a pretty bleak picture for the next couple of weeks, if I'm being honest. For El Camotal, the swell window’s open to the NW but the predominant energy is coming from the SW, which isn’t its optimum. The water’s much warmer than normal for the time of year, coming in at 71° with a positive anomaly of 7°, which is very unusual. But that’s about the only unusual thing happening—the surf sure isn’t.

We start off with a bit of a tease on Tuesday the 28th. There’s some decent size from the SW—just over 5 feet with a long 15-second period—and the combined energy is strong at 1217 (moderate to very strong), but the wind is a cross-on from the SSW at 9 mph, which is putting a chop on it. The comments say “marginal surf forecast or questionable tide conditions,” and honestly, it’s not worth paddling out for. By the afternoon the wind picks up and it gets choppier.

Wednesday the 29th sees the swell drop just a touch to around 5 feet, still with that long period, but the wind is lighter and cross-on. The energy is still moderate at 818, but clean it is not. It’s still marginal. The rest of that week and the first week of August is a slow, sad slide. From Thursday the 30th onwards, the swell drops below 4 feet, the period gets shorter, and the wind stays cross-on. By Friday the 31st, we’re looking at around 3 feet and the wave comment turns to “poor surf conditions” with zero scores. That streak of poor days runs all the way through to about Wednesday the 6th of August. That’s more than a week of nothing worth talking about.

The energy falls off a cliff. By Monday the 4th of August, we’re down to around 2 feet and a combined energy of just 66—that’s weak. It’s just not happening.

Around Thursday the 6th of August, there’s a tiny flicker. We get about 3 feet from the SW again, but the combined energy bumps up to 642 (moderate) and the period stretches out to a very long 16 seconds on the Thursday afternoon. But it’s still cross-on, still marginal, nothing you’d set an alarm for. Friday the 7th is similar, with around 4 to 4 feet and moderate energy, but the wind keeps it messy.

That’s really it for any halfway decent window. The weekend of the 8th and 9th of August is a joke—0.3 feet swell, combined energy of 4, just flat. There is a long period 21-second swell showing up on the 9th afternoon but it’s only 1 foot, so it’s not doing anything. The rest of the outlook through the 12th is all under 2 feet with weak energy.

So for El Camotal, the best of a bad bunch is the early period on the 28th and 29th of July, and maybe the 6th and 7th of August for a glimpse of long-period energy, but with the cross-on wind, you’re really just looking at choppy, marginal waves. Nothing here is a standout. I’d leave the board in the car and maybe have a coffee instead. Forecasts can change, but for now, it’s a rough run.

Rusty.

Read more