El Comedor Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G'day, Rusty here. Look, I've been staring at the charts for El Comedor and I gotta be straight with you – it's a tough run ahead. This is an expert-level reef break, and it's consistent, but the conditions are just not playing ball for the next couple of weeks. The wind is locked in from the north and north-northeast, blowing straight onshore or cross-onshore, and that's trashing what could be a decent wave. The water temperature is about average for this time of year.

We kick off on Saturday the 25th of July, and it's not pretty. We've got a 8ft swell from the NNE, but it's short-period at 8 seconds, and that onshore wind at 19 mph is making a mess of it. The combined energy is moderate (657), but the wave comment says it all – poor surf conditions. This pattern just repeats. Sunday the 26th is the same story: 8ft at 8 seconds, cross-onshore winds, and a score of zero. It's frustrating because there's swell, but it's all wind-affected and choppy.

We go through the entire first week with the same story. On Monday the 27th the swell drops to 6ft, but the wind is still onshore. The energy drops into the moderate-low range (334), and the quality is still poor. This continues day after day. Tuesday the 28th, Wednesday the 29th, Thursday the 30th – all with onshore winds, short-period swell, and zero scores. The swell hangs around 4ft to 5ft, but it's just not worth paddling out.

Then we hit a bit of a gap. From Friday the 31st of July through to Saturday the 1st of August, the swell is small (5ft to 5ft) and the period is even shorter – 6 seconds. The wind does ease a little, dropping to 6 to 9 mph, but it's still onshore or cross-onshore. The energy is still moderate (225-292), but the forecast is marginal at best. The best you can say is the morning of Saturday the 1st of August has a light breeze and onshore wind, but the swell is weak and short. It's a no-go.

Now, there's a glimmer. The second week of August starts to look a bit more interesting, but it's still not great. On Sunday the 2nd of August, the swell picks up to 5ft, and the period is a bit better at 7 seconds. The wind is from the ENE at 6 mph, a light cross-onshore. The energy is up to 366, and it's marginal. You might get a grovelly one, but it's still not clean. The morning of Monday the 3rd of August is similar – 5ft, 8 seconds, light cross-onshore, energy at 445. It's the best of a bad bunch, but honestly, it's still a struggle.

Then we get to the end of the run. Around Thursday the 6th of August, the swell bumps up to 7ft with 8-second periods, and the energy spikes to 932 (still moderate). But the wind is cross-onshore at 12 mph, and it's choppy. On Friday the 7th of August, the wind eases a bit to 9 mph, but it's still cross-onshore. The swell is 7ft, which is getting solid for a reef, but the quality is poor. The last few days, Saturday the 8th and Sunday the 9th, the swell stays around 7ft, but the wind is onshore again.

So, what's the bottom line? There is no standout day in this 16-day window. The swell direction is from the NNE, which is the onshore direction for this spot. The optimum is from the NNW, and we never get that. The wind is always wrong. The one thing to note is that the combined energy does get moderate, but it's wasted. If you're a kite surfer, this onshore wind and decent swell might look interesting, but for a paddle surfer, it's a write-off. The forecast can change, but right now, it's a blank run. I'll be keeping an eye on it, but don't hold your breath.

Rusty.

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