El Corniche Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here again, same story, different numbers. Let’s break it down in feet and miles per hour.

Right off the bat, I gotta be straight with ya – it’s a tough outlook. For the first week and a half, we’re staring down a wall of poor surf conditions. The wind is locked in onshore or cross-onshore from the WNW to NW, blowing 12-16 mph most days, and that is just gonna shred any chance of a clean wave. The swell is there, but it’s all short-period windswell (6-7 seconds) and it’s messy. The energy climbs through the first week, but with that wind, the wave comment is consistently “poor surf conditions.” This is a beach-and-reef setup, and honestly, for the first week, this looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing.

Now, there is a small blip on the Saturday morning of the 6th of July, where the wind drops to a light breeze from the NNW at 3 mph and it’s blowing directly offshore. That’s a major positive – glassy conditions are on the table. But the swell is tiny, only about 3ft from the NW with a short 7-second period, and the combined swell energy is weak. It’s rated as “marginal surf forecast or questionable tide conditions.” A longboard or a foamie might get you a few softies, but it’s nothing to get excited about.

The real story here is the gap. After that brief Saturday morning, it goes dead again. From Saturday afternoon on the 11th of July all the way through to the morning of the 14th of July, we’re looking at nothing but weak, small, poor surf. The combined energy bottoms out. That’s about 3 days of absolutely nothing worth paddling out for.

Then, on Tuesday the 14th of July morning, we get a pulse of moderate swell energy with a 5ft NW swell, 8-second period. The wind is a light breeze from the NW at 6 mph, blowing directly onshore. But still, the wave comment is “marginal surf forecast or questionable tide conditions.” That’s the closest we get to a standout in this whole 16-day stretch. It’s the only day with a decent-sized swell and light wind, but the onshore direction and short period will keep it bumpy. This is the one window for someone who just needs to get wet, but don't expect perfection.

After that, the swell fades back down into the 2ft – 4ft range for the rest of the period, with onshore or cross-onshore winds keeping things choppy. The crowds at El Corniche are listed as "sometimes", so it won't be packed, but there's not much wave to fight over anyway.

To be honest, this area is going through a dry spell. It tends not to stay poor for long, and forecasts can change, but right now the only remotely promising session is the Tuesday 14th of July morning. Don’t hold your breath on the rest.

Rusty.

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