El Corniche Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Gotta be straight with you – the next sixteen days look pretty grim around El Corniche. There’s no proper swell on the horizon, just a bunch of weak, sloppy little waves that are hardly worth paddling out for. Even the best moments are only marginal at best, so don’t get your hopes up.

Let’s start with what we’ve got. This Saturday morning, the 15th, a 4ft NW windswell rolls in with a short period of 7 seconds. Combined energy is only 176 – moderate, but coupled with an onshore NW breeze at 9 mph it’s making a mess of things. Water temp is a balmy 84°, which is 4° warmer than normal – that’s notable, almost two degrees above the usual, so you’ll be in for a warm bath but the surf is a bust.

It doesn’t get any better Saturday afternoon – same story, just a little more breeze kicking up.

Sunday the 16th sees a slight bump in swell – 5ft from the NNW, period still a short 8 seconds, energy climbs to 307. But it’s cross-onshore at 9 mph in the morning, picking up to 12 mph in the afternoon. The wave comment says “marginal” at best, and I’d call it a messy, choppy affair. Not worth the drive.

Monday the 17th – 4ft NNW, period 8 seconds, cross-onshore light breeze in the morning but onshore in the afternoon. Still rubbish.

Now, here’s the one tiny glimmer – Tuesday morning the 18th. The wind drops to glassy, just a slight air, with a 3ft NNW swell, period 7 seconds. Energy is only 105 (weak), but for a few hours it might look clean. The wave comment says “surfable waves but very ordinary conditions” – not a standout, but it’s the best we’ll see in the first week. Still, with it being rarely breaking here, you’d be lucky to find a wave.

From Wednesday the 19th through to the end of the month, it’s a long, bleak stretch. Swell sizes drop to 1.0ft to 3ft, periods get shorter (4-7 seconds), and energy readings are mostly below 100 – often down in the single digits or tens. The wind is mostly cross-onshore or onshore, with only a couple of glassy patches on Monday the 24th morning (2ft NNW, 6 seconds, energy 60) and again on the 29th Saturday morning (3ft NNW, 7 seconds, energy 122). But even those are labelled “surfable but very ordinary” or “marginal.”

There is no standout surf in this entire 16-day window. The biggest swell arrives on the 28th – a 4ft NNW windswell with period 8 seconds and energy up to 239, but it’s cross-onshore with 12-16 mph winds, making it choppy and poor. The setup at El Corniche is a beach-and-reef break exposed to the north, but with these onshore winds and weak short-period swells, honestly this looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing.

Crowds? Well, the guidance says it rarely breaks, so when there’s hardly any waves, there won’t be many people out. But if you do go on Tuesday morning the 18th when it’s glassy, it could get a few hopefuls – no guarantee of a wave though.

So cheers, but I’d say save your energy. Keep an eye on the forecasts – it tends not to stay this poor forever. But for now, it’s a long two weeks with very little to offer.

Rusty.

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