El Canal Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let's have a look at the El Canal stretch for the next couple of weeks, and I gotta be straight with you – it's gonna be a tough run for the most part.

The whole 16-day window is pretty bleak for clean, quality surf. There’s a long stretch from now all the way through to the morning of Monday, August 17th where conditions are just poor. The wind is almost always coming across, from the east or east-northeast, between 12 and 18 mph, which just trashes the surface. Even when there's a bit of size, like on Friday the 14th with 6ft of east swell and moderate combined wave energy (376), that cross-shore breeze has it all lumpy and messy. You’re looking at a solid 6 days of pretty much no-go surf.

The first hint of anything comes on Monday, August 17th. The morning shows a jump in size with a 8ft east swell and a very long period of 12 seconds. The wave energy is strong too, hitting 1433. That 12-second interval is a proper groundswell, so it’ll have some punch. But, the wind is still a cross breeze at 9 mph and there are thunderstorms around. For an exposed reef break like El Canal, that's a lot of power. Anything over 8ft is expert territory, and at 8ft, it’s still too much for beginners. The direction is east, not quite the optimum north, so it will be on, but not perfect. The afternoon drops back to 7ft with a bit more chop. Honestly, with the size and the onshore wind, this might be more of a kite-surfing show than a good paddle session.

After that Monday, the rest of the window just fades back into small, poor conditions with that same nagging cross-shore wind from the east. There’s nothing else that really stands out for a clean wave. The water temperature here is sitting at a warm 84°, which is bang on average for this time of year, so at least you can wear a shortie or boardshorts if you’re desperate for a splash.

So, the lowdown? If you're an advanced surfer and you're willing to battle the cross-chop for a bit of power on Monday the 17th, you might find a few. But for everyone else, it’s a waiting game. The expensive forecasts like this can turn around quick, but for now, it’s a grim outlook.

Rusty.

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