El Cardon Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, I'm looking at the charts for the next couple of weeks, and I gotta be straight with you – it's a real drought. This is going to be a long stretch of tiny, choppy, and just plain messy surf.

The first time you might even consider paddling out is on Tuesday morning, the 18th of August, at El Cardon. This is a point break that's open to the west. We're looking at a tiny 2 ft swell out of the southwest with a very long 16-second period. That long period can give you a nice wave, but with only 2 ft on the face and a light onshore breeze, it's a total gamble. The combined swell energy is weak (278). It's a marginal call, and the wind is onshore, so it's not looking good.

And then it gets worse. From Tuesday afternoon the 18th all the way through the end of the month, every single session is a "poor" call. The wind is almost always cross-onshore, and the small swell just can't do anything. The 18th of August through to the 31st of August is a long, blank stretch of no real surf to recommend. The energy is weak to moderate, but it's always getting chopped up.

There's a little glimmer of hope late in the week. On Sunday morning, the 30th of August, the combined swell energy jumps up to 739 (moderate), with a 3 ft southwest swell at 15 seconds. Still, the wind is a cross-onshore from the west at 10 km/h, so it's a "marginal" call. It's got a bit more energy, but it's not clean.

Then on Monday morning, the 31st of August, we see the swell bump up to 5 ft from the WNW at 8 seconds, with the combined energy at 560 (moderate). The wind is a light cross-onshore from the west at 10 km/h. That's some size, but the short period (8 seconds) means it's going to be weak and crumbly, and the wind is still not ideal. It's another marginal session.

The only real standout, if you can call it that, is the morning of Sunday, the 30th of August. The swell is 3 ft from the southwest at 15 seconds, and the combined energy is the highest we see (739). The wind is a light cross-onshore, so it's about as good as it gets in this flat spell, but it's still not clean. It's a "marginal" call, and honestly, it's the best of a bad bunch.

So, the next 16 days are a real grind. The first week is a total write-off. The second week offers a couple of marginal windows, but nothing that's going to get you excited. The setup looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing, if you're into that. The swell is small, the wind is onshore, and the surf is just poor. It's a tough run, but it happens. Forecasts can change, so keep an eye on it.

Rusty.

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