El Cardon Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G'day, it's Rusty here. Let's be straight with you—this is a quiet patch for the surf around here. The next couple of weeks are a real struggle, with nothing to get excited about. The first decent shot of swell doesn't arrive until late in the run.

We kick off from Thursday, August 20th, but honestly, there's no point paddling out. We've got weak, tiny swell from the SW around 1 to 2 feet, but every session is riddled with a cross-onshore breeze, making for choppy, poor conditions. The combined wave energy is weak, sitting between 115 and 147, which just isn't enough to push through that wind. This frustrating, marginal run goes on for days.

After the weekend, there's a slight change. From Monday 24th through Wednesday 26th of August, we get some glassy, offshore conditions in the mornings with light breezes, but the swell is still tiny—stuck around 1 to 2 feet from the SW. The energy numbers creep up a bit, hitting the 200s and low 300s, but it's still barely enough to surf. The water temp is sitting about 73°, which is a touch warmer than normal for the time of year, but that's little comfort when you're just bobbing around.

Then, around Thursday 27th August, we get a proper lift. Swell jumps to 4 feet from the SW, and the combined energy skyrockets to 581. BUT—the wind swings around to the NW and then WNW, putting a cross-onshore chop on the face again. It's still a tough one.

The real stand out happens much further out, on Wednesday, September 2nd. A day that finally looks worth circling on the calendar. We get a tiny 1 to 2 foot groundswell from the SW and SSW, but it's accompanied by a true glass-off. Early morning is glassy as glass, with a light NNE breeze so faint it's barely there. By the afternoon, we get a light cross-offshore from the ENE, keeping it clean. Sure, the waves are small, but for a spot like El Cardon, a point break that's consistent and exposed to the W, this is your moment. The long-period groundswell (16 seconds) will wrap in nicely here, making for much better shaped, more powerful waves than the size suggests. The combined energy sits at 240 to 317, so there's a bit of push. The only catch? This break can see crowds sometimes, so get in early for the cleanest lines.

After that, Thursday and Friday of the first week of September are blown out again by stronger southerly winds and bigger, messy swell. This is the one to aim for, but remember—being this far out, it's promising but not locked in.

So, overall, a long, quiet start. One standout morning on September 2nd at El Cardon if you can wait it out.

Rusty.

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