El Chinchorro Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s shaking for the next couple of weeks.

First off, we’re looking at El Chinchorro. It’s a consistent spot that’s exposed to the SW, and the water is sitting at 65° – a touch warmer than normal for this time of year, so that’s a nice little bonus.

The pattern shaping up is a steady run of south-west swell, but it’s nothing to write home about. The combined wave energy (872) kicks off the weekend with moderate energy, but the forecast is calling it “marginal” right from the start. The standout window – and I mean the only real standout in this whole 16-day stretch – is Saturday afternoon (5th September). We’ve got a clean 4 ft of SW swell, a solid 13-second period, and a light WSW breeze keeping it clean. The wind is offshore for this break, so it’ll be glassy. The crowd factor is “sometimes,” so you might have a few friends out, but nothing crazy. That’s your best bet.

Sunday the 6th drops off a bit. Morning brings a smaller 2 ft SW swell, though the period jumps to 20 seconds – that’s a proper long-period groundswell. It’ll have some punch, but at that size, it’s better suited to a point or reef than a beach break. Afternoon bumps up to 3 ft with 18 seconds, and the wind goes near glassy. Still, it’s marginal.

Monday the 7th is a 3 ft SW swell, 16 seconds, clean offshore wind. Tuesday the 8th holds 4 ft SW, but the period drops to 14 seconds and the energy is starting to fade (812). The rest of that first week is a repeating pattern of 3 ft to 4 ft SW swell, 13-15 seconds, with light offshore winds. It’s consistent, but nothing is firing. The combined energy stays in the moderate range, dipping into the 600s and 500s by Thursday and Friday.

After the first weekend, there’s a long gap of nothing special. From Saturday the 12th right through to the end of the forecast, we’re looking at small, weak surf. The swell drops to 3 ft, then 3 ft, and the period shortens. By Sunday the 13th afternoon, we get a 5 ft SSW swell but with a short 10-second period, so it’ll be a bit crumbly. The energy is moderate (528). After that, it’s a slow fade. The second week is mostly 2 ft to 4 ft waves, with periods dropping into the 9-12 second range. The energy falls into the 200-400 range, which is weak. The wind stays light offshore, so it’ll be clean, but there’s just not enough push.

Honestly, for the whole 16 days, Saturday afternoon September 5th is the only time I’d really paddle out. The rest is a waiting game. It’s a consistent break, so it tends not to stay flat for long, but this run is a bit of a snooze.

Stay stoked, catch that Saturday window.
– Rusty

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