El Corniche Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, let’s get into it. This is Rusty.

Right off the bat, this is a quiet stretch for El Corniche. It’s one of those rare breaks, and we’ve got a long dry spell ahead before anything even thinks about showing up for a proper session. For the first week-plus, we’re looking at small, weak, and mostly messy conditions. Nothing worth paddling out for. The water temp is about average for the time of year, nothing wild to report there.

What we’ve got most days is tiny swell, under 2ft, and cross-onshore or onshore winds that keep the surface choppy. The combined wave energy is mostly in the low double digits or even single digits (like 30, 19, 11) – really weak. There’s a brief moment on the morning of the 16th September with a touch of clean surf, but it’s only 3ft from the NNW with a short 6-second period, and light cross-offshore wind. It’s surfable but nothing special.

The real change doesn’t roll in until Monday the 21st September. We finally see a jump in swell height to 4ft from the NNW, and the period lengthens to 6-7 seconds. The combined energy climbs to 130-138 – that’s moderate energy. However, the catch is the wind: it’s blowing directly onshore from the NNW at 9-12 mph, so the conditions are poor. It’s going to be a bumpy, unappealing mess.

By Tuesday the 22nd September, the swell drops slightly to 4ft, but the wind stays cross-onshore. The energy is still moderate at 148, but the surface is choppy.

Now, the standout – and I mean the only real standout in this whole 16-day outlook – is the morning of Wednesday the 23rd September. We get a clean, glassy session. The wind goes glass at WSW at just 3 mph. The swell is a modest 2ft from the NNW with a 6-second period. The combined energy is low (40), so it’s not powerful, but it will be the cleanest, most user-friendly wave of the whole period. For a break that rarely works, this is the moment. It’s small, but get on it if you can.

After that, the swell fades fast. By the 24th September it’s down to 0.7ft, and the last few days of September barely register a pulse – energy values of 2-5. The winds shift offshore from the SSE on the 25th, but with a 0.3ft swell, there’s nothing to ride.

So, to be straight with you: this is a tough run. If you’re keen, the 23rd morning is your only real shot at something clean. Everything else is either too small, too choppy, or both.

Rusty.

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