El Caño de la Culata Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s coming up over the next couple of weeks for our local stretch.

Honestly, straight off the bat, I’ve gotta be real with you – this 16-day window is a tough one. The swell is just not showing up with any punch, and most of what we get is chopped up by onshore breezes. We’re looking at a long, quiet spell with hardly anything worth paddling out for.

The only spot on the map, El Caño de la Culata, is a sheltered beginner-friendly setup that’s fairly consistent in the sense it can pick up swell, but the issue is there’s barely any to pick up. The water is sitting at a very unusual 76°F, which is a massive 6°F warmer than normal for this time of year – that’s a weird one.

For the whole first week, from Tuesday 14th July right through the weekend and into the next week, it’s a total write-off. We’ve got days of clean, glassy mornings with no swell at all, and then the afternoons get ruined by strong southwesterlies whipping up a choppy, lumpy mess. The tiny bits of swell that show up are weak, with combined wave energy barely hitting 2 to 13 (like 2), and period under 4 seconds – that’s just wind slop. The best the wind does is a cross-offshore, but you can’t surf what isn’t there.

That pattern of nothing really holds for most of the second week too. The mornings stay clean with no surf, and the afternoons get blown out. For example, on Thursday 23rd July afternoon, we get the biggest swell height of the whole period at just 2 ft from the west, but it’s riding a messy 4-second period and lumpy onshore wind. That’s not surfable, that’s a washing machine. The combined energy that afternoon hits a whopping 13 (still weak).

There’s a curious blip on the final Monday, 27th July in the afternoon. We get a tiny 0.3 ft swell from the southwest, but check out the period – 12 seconds. That’s a long period, groundswell energy trying to sneak in. However, the combined energy is only 10 (weak) and it’s hitting with a cross-onshore wind making it choppy. You’d be scratching for a wave.

The very last morning, Wednesday 29th July, starts dead flat, glassy, and clean – a perfect sunrise but with no rideable swell.

So, what’s the standout? There isn’t a true standout here. If you are a total beginner who just wants to sit on a board in warm water, the Tuesday morning of the 14th has a glassy 0.7 ft from the WSW. But let's be honest, that’s barely a ripple. Given the persistent lack of swell and the onshore winds each afternoon, this setup actually looks more interesting for a kite surfer than a paddle surfer on those windy afternoons. It’s a blank run, and for an area where the only option is a sheltered, fairly consistent beginner spot, that’s pretty normal when the ocean just shuts down.

Stay patient, folks. Forecasts change.

Rusty.

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