El Canal (Rio de Bayamon) Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, grab a seat. Rusty here. Let's talk about the next stretch at El Canal (Rio de Bayamon).

To be straight with you, the next week and a half is going to be a real waiting game. We've got a long spell of tiny, weak waves that are barely worth paddling out for. For the first few days, from Wednesday the 19th right through to the end of that week, we're looking at ankle-snappers at 0.4 ft to 1 ft. The wind is blowing cross-off from the East, which would normally be a good look, but there's just no energy in the water. The combined energy is barely registering (33–38), so it's flat out a poor setup. This pattern continues into the weekend and early next week with 0.9 ft to 1 ft. The swell is from the NNE or NE, with a short, weak period of 7-8 seconds. It's a tough run.

The water temperature is 84° with an anomaly of +0.7°, so it's about average for the time of year. At least you won't need a thick suit while you're sitting out there waiting for something that isn't coming.

The first real change worth mentioning arrives on Monday the 24th and Tuesday the 25th. The swell bumps up a little to 4 ft–4 ft from the ENE. The combined energy finally breaks into three digits (110–149), but the period is a lowly 6–7 seconds. It's being pushed by a fresh East breeze at 19 mph. The file says "poor surf conditions," so don't expect any sort of quality.

Wednesday the 26th sees the biggest swell of the window. It pushes up to 5 ft in the morning and hits 6 ft in the afternoon. The combined energy jumps to 211 and then 288 – it's got some real push to it, but the period sits at a weak 7 seconds. This is a bigger, crumbly, messy wave. Only for experts at that size (over 8 ft). The wind is offshore enough to keep the surface clean, but the short period will make it bumpy and hard to ride.

The best chance for something decent and surfable is Thursday the 27th in the morning. The swell is 5 ft from the East with an 8-second period. The combined energy spikes to 684 – that's the strongest energy reading of the whole forecast. It's still not groundswell, but it's got some grunt. The wind is a clean cross-off from the East at 12 mph. We get a marginal rating that day, which is the closest thing to a thumbs-up in this whole run. For this break, a mid-sized, short-period East swell with clean offshore wind is the best we're going to get. The crowds are listed as "sometimes," so you might have a few out.

After that, things trickle off. Friday the 28th sees the swell drop back to 3 ft–4 ft with a shift to a cross wind, messing with the shape. Through the end of August and into September, it gets small again (0.3 ft–3 ft) and mostly cross-shore winds, wiping out any real potential.

The standout in this entire run is Thursday morning, the 27th of August. It's the only time we get a solid 5 ft swell with that strong wave energy (684) in clean cross-off wind. Even then, it's a short-period affair, so it won't be a classic but it's the only real chance for a session.

This place is a river break and it rarely breaks as it is, so a blank run like this isn't out of the ordinary. If you absolutely have to get wet, maybe keep an eye on the 27th.

Rusty.

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