El Huaico Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G'day, Rusty here.

Look, I’m not gonna sugarcoat it – the next 16 days at El Huaico are a bit of a grind. We’ve got a very consistent reef break that’s exposed to the south swell, but the conditions are going to be fighting us for most of the forecast. The water is a notable 4° warmer than usual for this time of year, coming in at 69°, which is very unusual.

We kick off this Saturday morning, August 29th, with a solid 6ft SW swell packing a lot of energy (1435). The problem is that cross-on wind from the SW at 6 mph is messing with the surface. It’s still surfable, but it’s not clean. That afternoon the swell drops a touch to 6ft, and the wind goes more cross-shore, but it’s still a bit bumpy. Sunday morning sees 5ft SW swell, and the wind is still cross-shore and light. It’s rideable, but no standout.

Monday the 31st brings a drop in size to 4ft, and the conditions are listed as poor. Tuesday the 1st of September is even smaller, with a 3ft swell and onshore wind. It’s a flat spell, basically. Wednesday and Thursday stay small, with 3ft to 4ft, on the cross-on side. The energy is dropping right off (535-607).

Then Friday the 4th of September brings a bit of a pulse. We see 6ft SW swell in the morning, and the energy jumps back up to 1868. The wind is a bit stronger at 9 mph from the SSW, making it choppy. The afternoon session is the best of the early run: 6ft SW swell, with the wind dropping to a near-calm 3 mph and going cross-shore. That’s the cleanest window we get, but the wave comment still says marginal. It’s the one to try for if you’re keen.

The following week is more of the same: 4ft to 6ft swells, with light cross or cross-on winds. Nothing really cleans up. We get a bit of a long-period groundswell showing up on the 2nd (18 seconds) and 3rd (17 seconds), but it’s still cross-on, so at a reef it might line up okay, but the surface won’t be perfect.

The real standout is on Sunday the 13th of September. The swell jumps to 7ft in the morning and 8ft in the afternoon, with a short period of 8-9 seconds (windswell). The energy is huge (1461-1786). The wind is light and offshore from the W and WSW. That’s clean. The only catch is that 8ft with short period is going to be a bit lumpy and heavy – definitely for experts only. It’s a solid pulse, but the wind is the only thing making it work. It’s promising, but being 16 days out, keep an eye on it.

Overall, the best bets are the Friday afternoon session on the 4th for the cleanest conditions, and the Sunday the 13th for the biggest, cleanest swell, but only if you’ve got the chops.

Rusty.

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