El Claron Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, this is Rusty. Look, the next couple of weeks at El Claron are a real mixed bag, but there’s a serious window of quality swell coming up if you’ve got the skills to handle it. We’re starting slow, real slow.

For the first few days, through the weekend of the 21st to the 23rd, it’s pretty dismal. The swell is mostly around 5 ft to just over 7 ft from the southwest, but the wind is either cross-on or light cross-shore, and the combined wave energy is weak to moderate (684 down to 175). It’s choppy and messy. Honestly, not worth paddling out. This stretch is a write-off. You’re looking at a gap of about three days with nothing worthwhile.

Things start to look up from Monday the 24th. The swell drops right off to tiny 2 ft, but we get some glassy conditions. The combined energy is still low (192), but the period stretches out to a long 13 seconds from the SSW. It’s small, but clean. It’s a chance to get wet if you’re desperate.

The real standout kicks off from Thursday the 27th of August. This is where it gets interesting. On Thursday afternoon, we’ve got a solid 8 ft swell from the WSW with a 12-second period. The wind is glass, complete glass. The combined wave energy is very strong (2954). This is excellent surf, but only for experienced surfers—8 ft is big, pushing expert territory.

Then the stand-out call: Friday the 28th of August. Both morning and afternoon are absolute fire. The swell holds at a solid 10 ft from the WSW, with a very long period of 15 seconds in the morning and 14 seconds in the afternoon. Winds are glass all day, with calm conditions in the afternoon. The combined energy is massive—4216 in the morning, 3504 in the afternoon. This is a groundswell with that long period, so it’s going to wrap nicely around the point at El Claron (El-Claron). Break quality is top notch, but at this size, it’s strictly for experts who know the lineup. The swell direction from the WSW matches the optimum direction for the break perfectly. It’s going to be clean, powerful, and very consistent. Expect crowds to be possible here given the quality on offer, and the water temperature is sitting around 57°F, which is about average for the time of year.

The following Saturday and Sunday (29th and 30th) still offer good waves in the 7 ft to 6 ft range with glassy periods, but the energy backs off into the moderate-to-strong range. Still very surfable, especially Sunday afternoon with clean offshore winds from the east.

By the start of September, from the 31st onwards, things start to fade again and the wind turns cross-on, chopping up the swell. The last week of the forecast from the 1st to the 5th of September has a few pulses of 5 ft to 6 ft swell, but the wind is consistently cross-on or onshore, often fresh. The combined energy is moderate, but the quality is poor to marginal at best. Kite surfers might get a look in, but for a paddle surfer it’s a tough slog.

So, if you’re an experienced surfer, make plans for Thursday the 27th through to Sunday the 30th of August. The absolute highlight is Friday the 28th. Don’t waste your time before that.

Rusty.

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