El Chanquete Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Gotta be straight with you—this is one of those outlooks where I’m scraping the barrel. The whole 16-day window from now through to July 25th is a pretty grim run for El Chanquete. There’s no real surf to get excited about. A few tiny bumps pop up now and then, but the wave comment keeps calling it “poor surf conditions” every single day, and the scores back that up—nada. Not a single recommendation in the finder that’s worth paddling out for.

Let’s break it down. It starts on Friday the 10th with a weak 3 ft swell from WSW at a short 5-second period, combined wave energy is a pathetic 47—barely a ripple—and a moderate onshore wind messes it up. That same tiny, weak pattern drags through the weekend and into next week. Saturday the 11th morning has a bit of cross-off breeze but still just 3 ft of crummy short-period swell. Sunday the 12th is even smaller, down to 2 ft. It’s a grind of days with combined energy values staying below 60, often in the teens or single digits. The swell direction wobbles between SW and WSW, nothing substantial, and the period never gets above 5 or 6 seconds, so no power behind it.

There are a few mornings where the wind goes light cross-off or even glassy—like Sunday the 19th morning with dead calm, glassy water, and Monday the 20th morning also glassy—but the swell is virtually non-existent at 0.3 ft or flat. That’s not surf, that’s a lake. Even the later pinch on Thursday the 24th afternoon, when it bumps to 4 ft from SW at 5 seconds, the combined energy is still only 85, and it’s blowing onshore. No quality. On the 25th, another pulse of 3 ft from WSW is cross-off in the morning, but again, short period, weak energy (52).

Water temp on that first day? 77°, with a 5° anomaly—that’s much warmer than usual for the time of year. That’s unusual, but it won’t help the waves.

Honestly, there’s nothing here that’s better than any other day. No standout. This break is a beach and reef setup, fairly consistent, beginner-friendly when there’s something, and sometimes crowded. But with this run of tiny, weak surf, even beginners would be bored. It’s the kind of blank run that does happen here from time to time. Forecasts can always change, but right now? I’d leave the board at home.

Rusty.

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