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

Alright, let's have a look. This is Rusty.

Straight up, I gotta be honest with you – this 16-day window is a tough one for El Canal (Rio de Bayamon). The whole outlook is a series of "poor surf conditions." There is no standout day, no real session to get excited about. It's a flat spell with nothing to recommend.

We kick it off on Monday, 14 September, with some small cross-offshore wind and tiny waves. The swell is a weak 2 ft from the east, with a short 9-second period, and the combined swell energy is a low 53. That’s weak. The wind is a moderate breeze, so it won't be totally messy, but with no push behind it, you're just bobbing around. The water temp is about average for the time of year, nothing unusual.

The whole first week is the same story – tiny heights, mostly under 3 ft, and energy readings that barely crack 100 on the 17th and 18th. Even when we get a longer 14-second period swell on the afternoon of Wednesday 16th, it's only 0.3 ft high. That's a ghost swell. There's no power behind it.

The second week rolls in, and while the energy builds a bit – we see values climb to 153, 178, and even 269 on Monday 28 September – it's still all rated as "poor". On Monday 28 September, we get 3 ft from the north with an 11-second period, which is the biggest swell of the forecast. The energy is 269, which is moderate. But the wind is a cross-shore, creating a cross-chop. For a river break that is sheltered and rarely breaks, this setup looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing.

The best conditions for a surfboard would be the afternoon of Friday 25 September, with light offshore wind from the southeast and a 2 ft, 7-second swell, but even then, the energy is only 119. You might catch a few knee-high dribblers, but it's not worth paddling out for. The crowds here are only "sometimes", so you won't be fighting for waves, but there aren't really any waves to fight for anyway.

In short, this is a blank run for the area. It's normal for El Canal to be inconsistent, and this stretch is one of those times. Put the board away, check the forecasts again in a few days.

Stay salty.
Rusty

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